SANDAUN PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT€¦ · SANDAUN PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT DIVISION OF EDUCATION SANDAUN PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION P.O.BOX 126 VANIMO SANDAUN PROVINCE PAPUA NEW GUINEA TEL:

SANDAUN PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

DIVISION OF EDUCATION SANDAUN PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION P.O.BOX 126 VANIMO SANDAUN PROVINCE PAPUA NEW GUINEA

TEL: (675) 857 1240, FAX: (675) 857 0000, EMAIL:

Sandaun Provincial Education PlanSandaun Provincial Education PlanSandaun Provincial Education PlanSandaun Provincial Education Plan

2007200720072007----2014201420142014

Empowering Every Sandaun Child

West Sepik Provincial Education Plan 2007-2014 ii

West Sepik Provincial Education Plan 2007-2014 iii

Abbreviations

PNG Papua New Guinea NG National Government SP Sandaun Province SPG Sandaun Provincial Government DoE Department of Education SPA Sandaun Provincial Administration SPEP Sandaun Provincial Education Plan NEP National Education Plan MTDS Medium Term Development Strategy NEB National Education Board PEB Provincial Education Board PEC Provincial Executive Council JPPBPC Joint Provincial Planning & Budget Priorities Committee JDPBPC Joint District Planning & Budget Priorities Committee LLG Local Level Government DOA Diocese of Aitape DOV Diocese of Vanimo BEDP Basic Education Development Program LDD Less Developed District SIMG School Infrastructure Maintenance Grant

West Sepik Provincial Education Plan 2007-2014 iv

The Provincial Education Plan 2007 – 2014: ““““EEEEmpowmpowmpowmpowererereringinginging every Sandaun Childevery Sandaun Childevery Sandaun Childevery Sandaun Child”””” sets out new initiatives in education for

Sandaun Province for the next eight years, and stresses the need for education to reach out to every child in every part of our extensive and physically-demanding Province. The development of the Plan has resulted from the support and commitment of many individuals. Raphael Pavuo and Maxton Essy of the Planning, Facilitating and Monitoring Division of the National Department of Education provided the initial guidelines for the process of compiling a Provincial Education Plan. The Provincial Plan Consultative Group, consisting of Claire August, Emelda Leki, Lynn Imba, Glenda Giles, Dorothy Nauwa, Zakrias Nauot, Cliff Sindol (Ernest Nikengu), Ambrose Sikre, Johnny Michael, Honourable Gerald Gubon,MPA, Maran Nateleo and Frank Evans, raised practical and relevant educational needs from the experience of their various backgrounds, and then subjected specific sections of the draft Plan to careful scrutiny and constructive criticism when asked to perform this task. The Plan would not have been written without the professional expertise of Maran Nateleo who laid out the draft of the Plan and contributed much of the initial content of major sections, in spite of many other pressing work commitments. The District Education Managers were called upon to provide details relating to their districts, and their responses were positive and helpful. Church Agency Secretaries likewise provided valuable assistance in relation to their schools and the hopes and aspirations of their Agencies.. Work done on draft plans from previous years by Division of Education planning personnel was used as reference when compiling certain sections of the Plan. Frequent recourse was made to the technical expertise of the Secondary Inspector, Joseph Moide, the Senior Primary Inspector, Johnny Michael, the Vocational Inspector, Daniel Yaman, and the Provincial Elementary Teacher Training Coordinator, Samuel Paulon. Their advice, explanations of issues and practical suggestions for improvements in their sector significantly influenced the final content of the Plan. Many members of the general public of the Province who harbour an interest in education and in the future of the children of the Province made their contribution to the content of this Plan during formal consultation meetings, through Boards of Management/Governors meetings or in correspondence to the Provincial Division of Education. This input from the “grass roots” level of the Province was greatly appreciation and considered with the utmost respect. Transport restrictions made travel to certain intended consultation destinations impossible. Those places which were not visited for consultation were however certainly not overlooked in the formulation of the Plan because the emphasis in the content of the Plan is to give special consideration to remote or disadvantaged areas or groups of people as much as possible. Much of the final draft of the Plan was eventually completed by Frank Evans, the outgoing Provincial Education Director, and Mr. Adolph Kajir the former acting Director for education in conjunction with the Regional Monitoring and Planning Adviser, Raphael Pavuo. The Province is indebted to Raphael Pavuo without whose efforts and professional expertise, his encouragement and perseverance, the Plan would never have become a reality. Thanks are also extended to Geoff Thompson the Planning Advisor with the National Department of Education for the assistance and support which were always forthcoming, and to PRIDE which made funding available for consultation visits and for the functioning of the Provincial Consultative Group.

………………………………………….. Chairperson Consultative Committee

Acknowledgement

West Sepik Provincial Education Plan 2007-2014 v

Governor’s Message

Education and health are the two key basic social services which a government must deliver to all people whom it serves. If priority is not given to the provision of education services in a country or in a province, there can be no lasting progress or development.

The Provincial Education Plan for West Sepik (Sandaun) Province –“Empowering every Sandaun child” - attempts to address the educational needs of all the children in all parts of the province – to provide educational opportunities to children in even the most remote and disadvantaged areas. The successful implementation of this plan is pivotal to the development of Sandaun Province over eight year period 2007 – 20014. Until

now, there has never been a formally-approved Provincial Education Plan in this Province. This has resulted in priorities not being clearly established and pursued in education, and financial support for education in different parts of the Province being allocated inconsistently and inequitably. This Plan has been drawn up after wide consultation and discussion and provides a balanced path for education in the Province to follow in the period up to 2014.

Recent statistics provided by the National Economic and Fiscal Commission list the four districts in Sandaun Province right at the bottom of the table of Least – Developed Districts in Papua New Guinea. Telefomin is the lowest in the province on the table, with Nuku, Vanimo-Green River and Aitape-Lumi filling the positions just above Telefomin. This is a situation which must be addressed if the province is to develop. Because of the lack of income-generating opportunities in the province, Sandaun is presently the least able province in the country to finance the provision of basic needs for all its population. It is essential then that this Plan is followed closely and scarce financial resources which we have be allowed to produce their maximum results.

------------------------------------------

Hon. Simon Solo. MP

Governor

West Sepik Provincial Education Plan 2007-2014 vi

Provincial Administrator’s Message

In March 2005, the National Education Plan for Education 2005 – 2014 was launched by the Department of Education (DoE). This sets out the guidelines regarding the directions it is proposed that Education in Papua New Guinea should take over the ten year period.

Papua New Guinea is however, made up of nineteen provinces and one district, each of which all has special situations and particular needs which must be considered if appropriate education is going to be delivered successfully to an individual province. In this respect, the DoE called upon all provinces to prepare provincial education plans which would be in keeping with the spirit and directions of the national plan but designed to cater for the specific requirements of a particular province.

West Sepik (Sandaun) Province is a geographically remote, physically extensive and socially disadvantaged province. The challenge for education is to overcome the obstacles which present themselves in the province so that children in the most remote and disadvantaged locations are given an opportunity to access an appropriate education on equal terms as far as possible with those children in urban or more advantaged areas. This opportunity must start at elementary level and continue all the way to the secondary level.

This is indeed a daunting challenge given the existence of only a rudimentary road network, the difficulties for airline companies in maintaining services to remote locations in the province and the erratic radio communication services. It is however a challenge which must be faced and conquered because education is an essential requirement, perhaps the essential requirement, if true development is to take place in the province. Children who receive an education grow to become aware and productive adults contributing at all levels of society. Some, in the village will gradually be instrumental in raising living standards; some of these children, if given the opportunity, proceed on to further studies and eventually may return to their areas as teachers or health workers.

The whole process of development starts with education; hence this Provincial Education Plan “Empowering every Sandaun child” is so important to the future of West Sepik (Sandaun) Province.

…………………………………………….

Joseph Sungi

Provincial Administrator

West Sepik Provincial Education Plan 2007-2014 vii

Provincial Education Director’s Message

The name of this Provincial Education Plan for West Sepik Province – “Empowering every Sandaun child” – was chosen after much thought and consideration undertaken by a wide range of people. The goal was to find a really meaningful phrase, brief but precise, which told everyone at a glance that this was a very special plan for education in West Sepik Province, both in its broadly-based approach to education, and also in its outreach - to embrace every child in the Province

If the question “What do you mean by education?” is posed to many people, a common response will be “Education is learning”. The next question to ask then is “Learning what, and for what purpose?” Education has often be taken to mean the accumulation of various bits of information or knowledge in various fields, much of which is of no immediate or, more importantly, lasting value to a person. A much more meaningful and practical definition of Education can be stated in these terms: Education is the empowerment of individuals to utilise their inherent abilities and talents and skills to enable them to live a happy and productive life and to contribute to the development of their community, province or country.

This definition recognises that every individual, whatever their age, sex or location, possesses God-given talents which are waiting to be identified, nurtured and utilised. These talents may be in a wide range of different fields, but each is valuable and, if developed and encouraged, provides the means for an individual enjoying a worthwhile and useful life. The talents are in-built; education does not create them. What education does is provide an individual with the means of recognising the talents that are there - and then the ability to use them. This is what is called Empowerment, and it is what we should want education to provide for every individual whether a person’s talents lie in the fields of numeracy or literacy or in agriculture or in mechanics or in carpentry or cooking. So when our Plan states that its aim is “Empower….” This is an approach to education which at variance with conventional education theory of the past. The process of education is not seen as an end in itself: rather is it the start of a process which will enable an individual to realise the potential he or she possesses in whatever of a wide range of fields this may be. To empower then goes to the very heart of true education.

“…. every Sandaun child” emphasises that this Plan reaches out to children regardless of how remote or disadvantaged their part of the Province may be. This means that the Plan commits itself to a demanding task, because the provision of education services to the more difficult geographical areas of the Province is a daunting task. It is a vital task however, and one which has not always been addressed seriously and with commitment previously. We must all promote and pursue education excellence at all levels for all our children.

…………………………………………….

CORETTA NAIG

Provincial Education Director

West Sepik Provincial Education Plan 2007-2014 viii

List of Tables and Figures

List of Tables Page Table 1:Provincial Population Distribution by District and Gender .......................................................................................... 3 Table 2: Political & Administrative Units .................................................................................................................................. 3 Table 3: Literacy Rate by province of Momase Region........................................................................................................... 5 Table 4: Education Institutions in the Province by District....................................................................................................... 5 Table 5 Total enrolment between 2002 and 2006 ................................................................................................................. 14 Table 6 Orthography Chart By Language ............................................................................................................................. 15 Table 7 Teacher Trainer Requirement by District ................................................................................................................. 17 Table 8 Primary schools established in Sandaun province between 1997 – 2003 ............................................................... 20 Table 9 Primary schools established in Sandaun province in 2007 ...................................................................................... 21 Table 10 Establishment of primary schools by district 1997-2003 ........................................................................................ 22 Table 11 New community schools established in 2007......................................................................................................... 22 Table 12 Existing Community and Primary Schools by District and Agency ......................................................................... 22 Table 13 Total enrolments by grade, gender and year, 2002-2006 ...................................................................................... 23 Table 14 Total primary and community school staffing by gender and selected years ......................................................... 25 Table 15 Status of Schools conducting secondary education in the province at start of 2007 ............................................. 28 Table 16 Student enrolments by year and gender, 2003 to 2006 ......................................................................................... 28 Table 17 Transition from Grade 10 to Grade 11 in Sandaun Province 2004-2006 ............................................................... 29 Table 18 Number of Teachers by School and Year .............................................................................................................. 30 Table 19 FODE-West Sepik Province- New Students Enrolment 2000-2006 ....................................................................... 32 Table 20 Status of Technical & Vocational Training Schools in the province by 2005 .......................................................... 36 Table 21 Number of Staff per Vocational Training Schools at May, 2005 ............................................................................. 38 Table 22 Elementary Enrolment by Selected years 2007-2013 ............................................................................................ 52 Table 23 Number of Existing and Planned Elementary Schools by District .......................................................................... 53 Table 24 Existing Community and Primary Schools by District and Agency ........................................................................ 59 Table 25 Proposed establishment of new primary school Grade 7 classes 2008 - 2014 ..................................................... 60 Table 26 Distribution of Primary Schools by Districts............................................................................................................ 61 Table 27 Schools conducting secondary education in the province at start of 2007 ............................................................. 68 Table 28 Transition from Grade 10 to Grade 11 in Sandaun Province 2004 - 2006 ............................................................. 69 Table 29 Number of Teachers by School and Year .............................................................................................................. 72 Table 30 Provincial capacities to deliver essential services (from NEFC, 2005) .......................................................... 119 Table 31 Teachers’ Salaries (TSC) 2003 -2007 (in Kina) ............................................................................................. 120 Table 32 Teachers’ Salaries (TSC) selected years 2007 – 2014 (K) ................................................................................ 121 Table 33 Teachers’ Leave Fares 2003 – 2007 (in Kina) ................................................................................................... 121 Table 34 Teachers’ Leave Fares - selected years 2007 -2014 (K) ................................................................................ 121 Table 35 Provincial Division of Education Administration costs 2004 – 2007 (in Kina) .......................................... 123 Table 36 Projected administration costs PDoE 2007 – 2014 (in Kina) .......................................................................... 123 Table 37 Provincial School subsidies 2004 – 2007 (Kina) ........................................................................................... 124

List of Figures

Figure 1: Papua New Guinea structure of education .............................................................................................................. 7 Figure 2 The hierarchy within the Division is shown in the Flow Chart: ................................................................................ 93

West Sepik Provincial Education Plan 2007-2014 ix

Table of Contents

MMaappss ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… iiii

AAbbbbrreevviiaattiioonnss …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. iiiiii

AAcckknnoowwlleeddggeemmeenntt ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. vvii

GGoovveerrnnoorr’’ss MMeessssaaggee …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….... vv

PPrroovviinncciiaall AAddmmiinniissttrraattoorr MMeessssaaggee …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………vvii

PPrroovviinncciiaall EEdduuccaattiioonn DDiirreeccttoorr’’ss MMeessssaaggee…………………………………………………………………………………………………………vviiii

LLiisstt ooff FFiigguurreess//TTaabblleess ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... vviiiiii

TTaabbllee ooff CCoonntteennttss ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….... iixx

SSeeccttiioonn 11.. IInnttrroodduuccttiioonn ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11

The Context of the Plan ……………………………………………………………………… 2-5 The Background to the Education Reform Plan …………………………………………… 6-10 The Organization of the Plan ……………………………………………………………….. 11-12

Section 2. Situational Analysis …………………………………………………… 13

Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………... 13 Basic Education …………………………………………………………………………….. 13 Elementary Education ……………………………………………………………………….. 14-20 Primary Education ……………………………………………………………………………. 21-28 Post-Primary Education …………………………………………………………………… 29 Secondary Education ………………………………………………………………………... 29-33 Flexible, Open and Distant Education ……………………………………………………... 34-37 Technical and Vocational Education and Training ……………………………………….. 38-41 Administration of Education ……………………………………………………………… 42 Administration of Education …………………………………………………………………. 42-49

Section 3. Provincial Education Vision, 2007 – 2015 ……………………… 50-52

Section 4. The Provincial Education Plan, 2007 – 2015 ………………….. 55

Basic Education ……………………………………………………………………………… 55 Elementary Education ………………………………………………………………………… 55-62 Primary Education …………………………………………………………………………….. 63-70 Post-Primary Education ……………………………………………………………………. 71 Secondary Education …………………………………………………………………………. 72-79 Flexible, Open and Distant Education ………………………………………………………. 80-82 Technical and Vocational Education and Training ………………………………………… 83-89 Administration of Education ………………………………………………………………. Administration of Education ………………………………………………………………….. 90-98

Section 5. Implementing the Plan .....................................................................101 Organizational Arrangements……………………………………………………………….00 Implementation Schedule …………………………………………………………………...101-118

Section 6. Financing the Plan …………………………………………………….. 112

Cost Components of the Plan .………………………………………………………………122 Funding Sources & Responsibilities ……………………………………………………….123-128

Section 7. Monitoring and the Evaluating the Plan …………… …………………… 115

References ………………………….................................................................139

West Sepik Provincial Education Plan 2007-2014 1

Section 1.0Section 1.0Section 1.0Section 1.0

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION


SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION

Context of the Plan Location and Geography

Sandaun (West Sepik) Province is located between latitudes 2°35’ and 5°30’ South of the Equator and

longitude 141° E and 143° E. The Province is the third largest province in land size in Papua New Guinea, covering an area of 36,616 square kilometres, which constitutes 7.7% of Papua New Guinea’s total land area. It shares provincial borders with Manus, East Sepik, Southern Highlands and Western Provinces, as well as an while international border with the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya to the west. It is the most north-westerly province of Papua New Guinea and has a road link to Indonesia from the provincial capital, Vanimo. The geography of the province ranges from coastal lowland at sea level to the highest mountain peak at 4015 meters. The coastal lowland varies from sandy beaches in the east to a rocky coastline towards the PNG-Indonesian Border. There are pockets of swampy areas and several fast flowing rivers between Vanimo and Aitape. The highland areas of the province are characterised by some of highest peaks in the country found in the Star Mountains in Telefomin District, the Torricelli Range dividing Aitape, Lumi and Nuku areas, and the Bewani Range separating Vanimo, Green River and Bewani areas. The difficult and harsh geography of the province has presented, and will continue to pose, major constraints and challenges for socio-economic development of the province. The low development indicators in education, health, economic activities and infrastructure development in the province have been as a result of such geographical conditions.

History

It is believed that first people migrated into the island of New Guinea through the north-west coast from Asia more than 40,000 years ago. The great variety of languages spoken in the province suggests that there were many groups of people who migrated through the province. The Chinese and Malay Traders followed the migration route hundreds of years later. Catholic (Divine Word) Missionaries followed in 1896 and built a mission station on Tumleo Island off the coast of Aitape and established the first school on Tumleo Island. During the Second World War, the invading Japanese army took over Sandaun (West Sepik) Province in 1942. The Japanese army ran schools in Yakamul village in Aitape East Coast and other areas along the Aitape coast and taught people to read and write in Japanese. The Allied Forces landed in Aitape on 22 April 1944 and forced the Japanese army to surrender in 1945. After the war the Catholic (Franciscan) Missionaries started new mission stations in the Aitape, Vanimo and inland areas of Lumi and Nuku and continued with the provision of education and health services. The government administration of the province by the Australian Colonial Administration began after the Second World War. The province during the colonial administration was part of the large Sepik administrative unit administered from Aitape. Provincial government status was granted to the province on 4th December 1978, and the provincial capital was established as Vanimo. During this time the province was divided into six administrative districts of Aitape, Nuku, Lumi, Vanimo, Amanab and Telefomin. That was purposely for post-colonial administration and supervision by kiaps of almost all activities in the districts. The passing of the new Organic Law on Provincial Governments and Local Level Government in July 1995 saw the change from six districts into four districts of Aitape/Lumi, Nuku, Telefomin and Vanimo/Green River Districts with 17 Local Level Governments. A significant milestone in the expansion of formal education services in the province was the

establishment of the junior high school on Seleo Island off the Aitape Coast by the Catholic


Mission. The school was later moved to Aitape and in 1997 became the first secondary school

(St. Ignatius Secondary School) in the province. Other schools started up when the Catholic

mission expanded its mission stations to Vanimo Coast and Aitape inland areas and further

inland into Lumi and Nuku areas.

Demography

Sandaun is among 8 other provinces, which have populations between 150,000 to 200,000 in the 2000 National Census preliminary figures released in May 2001 by the National Statistical Office. The figures showed that Sandaun has a total population of 185,790 people and are distributed as shown in Table 1.0 below. The total provincial population comprised of 95,775 male and 90,015 female, with a ratio of 106 males to 100 females. The population density for the province is 5 persons per square kilometres with an average household size of 5.5 persons. The average annual population growth rate since 1980 is 2.4%. From the total provincial population, Aitape/Lumi has the highest population at 29%.

Table 1:Provincial Population Distribution by District and Gender

YYEEAARR AAiittaappee//LLuummii NNuukkuu TTeelleeffoommiinn VVaanniimmoo//GGrreeeenn

MMaallee FFeemmaallee MMaallee Female MMaallee FFeemmaallee MMaallee FFeemmaallee

22000000 2277,,222299 2266,,001177 2233,,336677 2222,,778899 1177,,996699 1177,,559955 2277,,221100 2233,,661144

%% ooff DDiisstt.. PPooppuullaattiioonn 5511%% 4499%% 5500..66%% 4499..44%% 5500..55%% 4499..55%% 5533..55%% 4466..55%%

%% ooff PPrroovv.. PPooppuullaattiioonn 2299%% 2255%% 1199%% 2277%%

TToottaall 5533,,224466 4466,,115566 3355,,556644 5500,,882244

There may be more than 80 ethnic and cultural groupings in Sandaun Province given that there are 86 different languages spoken throughout the province. There are marked ethnic differences between the coastal and mountain people resulting from the diversity in geography from the rugged mountainous regions to coastal regions. The features of the people are characteristic of the general features of highlands and coastal people of Papua New Guinea. For example, the Telefomin people who live up in the cooler highlands region have similar features, cultures and practices to that of the PNG Highlanders to the south and the Wamena people of the Indonesian Province of West Papua to the west. The hinterland people between the mountain ranges and the coastal plains exhibit similar features to those of the hinterland people of other parts of PNG and those on the coast have the features of islanders or Papuans. The diversity of ethnic and cultural groupings poses enormous challenges for the provision of education services throughout the province. These challenges includes the writing of the orthographies for elementary education, the different approaches to mobilising community support for the establishment and care of educational infrastructure and facilities, and the acceptance of introduced school curriculum.

Politics and Administration

The province is divided into four districts of Aitape-Lumi, Nuku, Telefomin and Vanimo/Green. The districts are further divided into 16 Rural Local Level Governments (LLGs); one Urban LLG of Vanimo; 320 Wards and 832 Villages as shown in Table 2 below.

Table 2: Political & Administrative Units

DDeessccrriippttiioonn

PPrroovviinncciiaall

DDiissttrriiccttss

AAiittaappee//LLuummii VVaanniimmoo//GGrreeeenn NNuukkuu TTeelleeffoommiinn

DDiissttrriiccttss 44 11 11 11 11

LLLLGGss 1177 44 55 44 44

WWaarrddss 332200 7788 9955 6666 8811

VViillllaaggeess 883322 221199 227733 117711 116699

HHoouusseehhoollddss 3333,,222233 88,,888811 88,,880055 99,,661177 55,,992200


The Provincial Governor holds the chairmanship of the Provincial Assembly; the Provincial Executive Council (PEC) and the Joint Provincial Planning & Budget Priorities Committee (JPPBPC). All seventeen Presidents of the LLGs, one nominated Women Representative and the five Members of Parliament make up the Provincial Assembly, whilst the PEC and JPP&BPC are comprised of appointed members from the Assembly. The PEC makes major decisions to govern the province and endorses Bills for enacting in the Provincial Assembly. The four districts are governed by the Joint District Planning & Budget Priorities Committee (JDP&BPC) where the chairperson of this Committee is the open Member of Parliament and the committee members are the LLG Presidents and other appointed members from the district community. The four JDP&BPCs are responsible for development decisions for the district. The Provincial Government is supported by the Provincial Administration with the current total staff ceiling of 428 (approved by Personnel Management in 2000) comprising of 99 positions at the provincial headquarters in Vanimo and 329 positions distributed among the 4 districts and the 17 LLGs throughout the province. Provincial Education Services are represented by a political head known as the Chairman of Education Services who is a member to PEC (the equivalent of the National Education Minister in the NEC) and the Education Division which is one of the nine (9) administrative divisions in the provincial administration. The Division is headed by the Provincial Education Advisor reporting through the Deputy Provincial Administrator, Policy and Advisory Services, to the Provincial Administrator and through the Provincial Management Team (PMT), the executive arm of the provincial administration. The Provincial Division of Education is also responsible to the PEB. The Division has 8 staff in headquarters and a team of up to 4 staff in each district including the District Education Manager. The provincial and district staff are required to provide technical and administrative support to schools’ Boards of Management or Boards of Governors as well as to the Provincial Administration.

Economy and Income Opportunities The population is largely rural based, with about 92% living in rural areas and 8% in urban areas. The provincial economy is largely a subsistence economy. The Province is blessed with natural resources such as gold, copper, oil, timber and marine resources which have potential to drive the future economy of the province. The discovery of these natural resources has attracted major overseas interest, and development of these resources has high investment potential which would contribute significantly to the long-term development of the Provincial economy. Apart from the natural resources, the Province has high potential for major agricultural development in the main cash crops of cocoa, coffee, vanilla, rubber, oil palm, rice and copra. The potential for the development of these crops are mostly in Aitape, Lumi and Nuku areas with some potential for Vanimo area particularly the oil palm development in the Bewani area and vegetable supply in the Telefomin district. Vanimo has benefited economically for about the last 20 years from the cash generated in the area by the presence of a major logging operation in the area. There will continue to be cash in the area due to recent expansion of logging operations into the Amanab area. The logging operation has invested into retail and wholesale activities which contributed to cash-flow in the area. Aitape is presently experiencing cash-generation due to logging operations. These also have retail and wholesale activities which are contributing to the local economy. There is still great potential for the logging industry to contribute towards the growth of the provincial economy. Although there is high potential for future income-generation in the Province given the abundant natural resources, the current scarcity of income-generating activities is creating major burdens for the largely subsistence families and communities in meeting the cost of education. The payment of school fees, especially at the secondary school level is extremely difficult for many subsistence farmers. The situation relating to the ability of the provincial economy to support the provision of education services has been a major concern of planners in the preparation of the Provincial Education Plan.

Transport, Communications and Other Support Infrastructure Air Transport is the main mode of travel in the province. This is mainly due to the virtual absence of a road network connecting the districts to the provincial headquarters. Hence costs of travel and freighting of goods is


very expensive. Third level airlines are now operating irregularly in the province. Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF), Diocese of Vanimo (DOVAIR) and National Air Service (NAS) do not provide RPT (Regular Passenger Transport) as previously. Airlink which had daily services (except Sunday) connecting into Vanimo from Port Moresby, Lae, Madang and Wewak and Aitape ceased operation in mid-2007. The flag carrier Air Niugini also serves the Province three times a week through Vanimo. Vanimo wharf takes in cargo vessels weekly while passenger ships come in every two weeks. Communication facilities, although reliable at times are still limited, to the extent that many rural areas often cannot be reached by reliable modern day communication. Mobile phone systems were installed in Aitape and Vanimo in 2006, but the services are very limited both in terms of range of access and also in regard to the number of people who can afford the high costs of the service. Most of the out lying districts are either totally out of contact or are restricted to an unreliable two way radio system operated by the health centres and churches. Bank South Pacific has branches in Aitape, Vanimo and agencies in Lumi, Nuku and Telefomin. Westpac Bank has a branch in Vanimo. There are also Post Offices in Vanimo and Aitape with postal agencies in Lumi, Nuku and Telefomin.

Education Status The education status of Sandaun Province is one of the lowest in PNG. The results of national census in 1990 shows 36.4% of females and 23.7% of males in West Sepik were literate compared to higher rates for respective gender in other provinces within the Momase Region as shown in Table 3 below.

Table 3: Literacy Rate by province of Momase Region

Province Provincial Rate Male Female Rank

Sandaun East Sepik Madang Morobe

30.4% 36.1% 45.9% 52.2%

36.4% 41.9% 50.7% 57.2%

23.7% 30.5% 40.5% 46.8%

4th 3rd 2nd 1st

Although the provision of education services in Sandaun Province has been one of the earliest in PNG, the progress thereafter has been slow. The number of educational institutions in the province does not equate with the population and there is disparity in the location of institutions between districts as can be seen in the Table 4 below, hence making access to education a major issue requiring attention.

Table 4: Education Institutions in the Province by District

District Sec. Schools

High Schools

Prim.

Schools

Comm. Schools

Elem.

Schools

Voc.

Centres

Uni.

Centres

CODE

Centres

Aitape/Lumi 1 2 24 37 72 3 1 -

Nuku - 1 19 27 71 3 - -

Telefomin - 1 14 23 56 1 - -

Vanimo/Green 1 2 13 51 80 1 1 1

Total 2 6 70 138 279 8 2 1

The province has realised the low educational status and the disparity in the distribution of educational institutions and it has given priority to the education sector in the recent years. This is exemplified in the allocation of more than half of the Province’s K36million Budget in 2006 amounting to K12million for teacher’s salaries; K912,000 for teacher’s leave fares and K665,000 for School Fees subsidies. There continue to be obstacles which hamper the delivery of education services in the Province, some of which derive from the location of schools and the difficulty of access and are therefore problems which may take some


time to address, but some which derive from lack of focus in regard to training of our teachers and so can be acted upon in the much shorter term. It has been pleasing to see a realization emerging in Education at the National level that special consideration must be given to remote areas because the children there have just as much right to be educated as the children in Port Moresby and Lae. The Basic Education Development Project (BEDP) has broken new ground in dealing directly with the most disadvantaged and remote schools. The National Government allocated K10,000 to each of 60 remote primary and community schools in WSP in 2005 and again in 2006 under the Least Developed Districts (LDD) School Grants program. Despite of all the problems and difficulties involved in the delivery of education services in this difficult Province, the province had performed exceptionally well in the recent years in the lower and upper secondary education level through Green River High School in Vanimo-Green District and St. Ignatius Secondary School in Aitape. Green River High School, despite being situated in a very remote location close to the Indonesian border, has many times since its first Grade 10 in 1994 emerged as the top academic school in PNG in the National Grade 10 Examination, whilst Saint Ignatius Secondary School has established a reputation among the top secondary schools in the country, and was the top school in PNG in Mathematics A, Mathematics B, Physics and Geography in the 2004 Grade 12 Higher School Certificate Examination. Since its first Grade 12 in 1998, it has regularly averaged an 80-90% transition rate of students to tertiary studies. Such potential must continue to challenge our efforts to improve the delivery of education services to all children in the province.

Background to the Plan

Education Reform Program In 1990 and 1991, the Department of Education, with assistance from UNDP and UNESCO, conducted an Education Sector Review. The primary recommendation of the sector review called for the reform of the education system. This recommendation was based upon an analysis of major issues and an identification of basic weaknesses in the system. The reform involved the restructuring of the formal education system from the pre - primary level through to the upper secondary level. The reform was designed to directly address most of the systemic weaknesses and problem areas identified in the sector review. The former 6-4-2 structure was characterised by high attrition rates at the primary level and a serious access problem at the secondary level. The two major bottlenecks were at Grade 7 and Grade 11. It was decided that at the first level, village or settlement-based elementary schools would be formalised. Annual intakes would be possible allowing for the reduction of staggered intakes. It was believed that this in time should solve the problem of over age entry. Enrolment at the prep level would begin at six years of age. These schools would build on existing Tok Ples Pre Skul (TPPS) initiatives and provide a preparatory year's education (EP) followed by Grades 1 and 2, often referred to as Elementary 1 (E1) and Elementary 2 (E2) in order to distinguish them from Grades 1 and 2 in the community schools. The structure is shown in Figure 1 below. The language of instruction in elementary schools would be the vernacular allowing for acquisition of literacy in the language which the children speak. Prep curricula would emphasise initial literacy, numeracy, ethics, morality and cultural bonding. To make the curriculum more relevant, to expand enrolments and help improve retention in elementary schools, EP, E1 and E2 would comprise a new integrated curriculum based on the child’s own culture and community. In many schools, teaching would be done by one teacher using multi-grade teaching methods. The transition to English would begin in the second year. A new more relevant integrated activity-based curriculum would be adopted and would use locally developed materials. An initial literacy kit of eighteen stories would be provided. Classes would be of four hours duration each day.


Figure 1: Papua New Guinea structure of education

Elementary Primary

Basic Education

Secondary Tertiary

University

College

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8P

Adult Literacy

and LearningOpen learning

9 - 10 including

Vocational &

Others

11 - 12

PETT

Elementary teachers would be trained through a programme consisting of three phases and internships. A system of supervision for elementary school teachers would be developed. Teachers would receive a salary commensurate with training and hours of duty. The elementary schools would feed the primary schools. The introduction of elementary schools in the villages should free classroom space and other facilities within the primary schools. This should allow for the relocation of Grades 7 and 8 classes from the high schools. Six years of primary education would be provided through to Grade 8. All children will be expected to continue with their education until Grade 8. It is hoped that this would help overcome the problem of the loss of students, particularly girls from the system after Grade 6. To improve the quality and relevancy of education, the primary curriculum would become more subject-specific and a strong vocational component should be developed for the upper grades as part of a Curriculum Reform Project. A new examination system would be formulated for graduation from Grade 8 and to enable selection for Grades 9 through to 12. Teachers currently within the system would be offered the opportunity to upgrade their qualifications to diploma level through an in-service programme. New graduates from the Teachers Colleges would be diploma holders equipped to teach in the upper primary grades. The facilities freed up by the relocation of the Grade 7 and 8 classes would be used in one of two ways. In the majority of schools there would be an immediate increase in the number of Grade 9 and 10 places and a doubling in most cases. At the same time identified schools would take in Grades 11 and 12. It would be in line with the government’s objective to have one school in each province at secondary status. Additional teachers would be trained to fully localise the teaching force. The universities would be requested to develop programmes for the upgrading of existing secondary school teachers. The curriculum would be broadened to include more technical, agricultural, commercial and scientific content. Vocational centres would become part of the secondary system. Open learning would provide an alternative opportunity for secondary education. The net effect of all this on schooling would be greatly increased access at all grades. The major expenditures required would be the upgrading of facilities and provision of materials at the primary and secondary levels and the cost of elementary school teacher salaries. The unit costs of education in Grades 7 through to 12 would be


reduced through the increased enrolments utilising facilities at existing primary and provincial high schools. This reduction should be further enhanced by the almost complete abolition of boarding students in Grades 7 and 8.

Education Reform Implementation in West Sepik Province � Access The key issues in regard to access involve ensuring, as far as possible, equitable access to all levels of education for the children of the many remote and disadvantaged areas of the Province. The issue of Elementary education still has to be addressed because the situation in many elementary schools is hard to verify. In the Primary sector, at the start of 2007 there were 68 primary schools and 140 community schools. The fate of the children in community schools is a genuine concern. District Education Managers and some Church Agencies have suggested that “clusters” be established with a primary school at the centre. Elementary schools would feed directly into the primary school and Community Schools, enrolling students from Grades 3 to 6, would also feed into these “central” primary schools after Grade 6. With the distances involved, setting up “central” primary schools for children younger than Grade 6 is not considered desirable. The fate of Grade 6 students who cannot feed into any “central” primary school influences the structures of high schools in the Province. It has been found that financial pressures have influenced most parents to opt to send their children to primary schools instead of high schools when the children finish Grade 6 at a remote community school. It is already apparent however that this “economy measure” is not proving to be effective and head teachers from remote community schools have reported that their Grade 6 graduates who successfully sought primary school places after having been selected for Grade 7 at high school are back in the village after one or two terms because of accommodation and related problems. This is an unsatisfactory outcome and must be considered when the consideration of “clustering” takes place. The question is also raised about the need to retain Grade 7 in some high schools for such children – but if so where will the school fees come from to allow the children to make use of the opportunity? Given the hardships experienced in Sandaun as most of the districts are fly-in districts the Province will continue to experience difficulties in providing education to all Sandaun children. The principle in elementary education is to expand the system until such time that there is available space in Elementary Prep for every six year old child .Sandaun Province will struggle to give opportunity to every six year old child enter Elementary Preparatory Grade by 2014. In primary education the province will still have community schools operating along side the primary schools for the period of this Plan. There will be space available for all children to complete an education through to Grade 8 .The process to phase out Grade 1 and 2 classes in community schools will be slow as most Sandaun schools are in very remote areas of our four districts are small and may not be able to operate as primary schools. The Province will continue to ensure that Basic Education is made available for all children with disabilities. The Province will support such institutions and encourage Sandaun people to assist children with disabilities. Each year the Province continues to experience unequal distribution in regard to teacher deployment. This is an area that must be carefully looked at and some teacher incentives be in place to attract teachers to go and serve in the remote areas of this Province. One incentive that must be looked at is getting teacher candidates from the local areas, who have completed a Grade 10 qualification, on the condition that they return after graduating. In secondary education there will be moderate expansion. This is to maintain the government objective regarding transition between Grade 8 and 9 and Grade 10 and 11. The province sees the transition between Grade 8 and 9 to be held at 50% and Grade 10 and 11 to be held at 25%. Parents will continue to make significant contribution towards the cost of their children’s education.


In vocational education the Province will encourage our students to enter vocational institutions after completing Grade 8 and 10. Courses will be tailored to attract students to do short courses, one and two year courses. There will be opportunities made available for students and teachers to go on exchange scheme with the Papua Province of Indonesia. Flexible, Open Distance Education will be offered as an alternate pathway for students completing their education through distance mode. It will be supported to ensure that its services are accessible to all.

� Quality In a significant number of schools in the Province, the Reform Curriculum is barely at the awareness stage. Inspectors who have been able to visit remote schools with the help of the Basic Education Development Project funding have acknowledged that this is in fact the case. Some schools in urban or coastal areas are more advanced and are fully into the implementation process, but it has been agreed that the focus must be directed to the disadvantaged schools to create proper awareness of the curriculum first of all, and then promote implementation. The magnitude of this task is substantial because to bring teachers from such schools for training involves a major exercise in logistics and costs. It has been resolved however that this must be the initial focus of action in regard to developing quality curriculum in schools in the Province. The Province does not have a Provincial Material Supply office. This building was burnt down and to date the Education Division is struggling to store and dispatch materials to all the schools in the Province. Inspectors continue to struggle to visit schools to monitor quality control of the basic education and secondary and vocational education and skills training. This issue has not been addressed in any great detail. Two matters however have been emphasized as far as the Province is concerned:

i. Teachers in remote schools must be given as far as possible an equal opportunity to access quality teacher education as those teachers in urban or coastal schools. The focus of teacher training must be the actual school, not districts and clusters. If the focus is directed beyond the school, then teachers from remote schools will continue to miss out on training as has been the case for many years; and

ii. one aspect of Teacher Education which has disappeared in recent years has been the training of head

teachers as administrators, personnel managers, financial managers and only then as curriculum implementers.

a. Management Two key issues have been identified including:

i. the restructure of the Provincial Education Office especially in regard to the management of the daunting volume of finance-related matters which are now handled by the PDoE. School Subsidies, Leave Fares, SIMG Grants, LDD Grants, BEDP Grants require the attention of an officer with accountancy capabilities, and more than one officer is needed to deal with the volume of work which is now required; and

ii. District Education Offices need to be restructured in view of the increasing amount of responsibility

being handed down to the Districts. There appears to be a “culture” among public servants and some teachers which flies in the face of endorsing the concept of embracing strong ethical principles. Such a “culture” manifests itself in regular absences from place of work, lack of punctuality, misuse of government or school assets, and irresponsible use of government or school funds.The Province in the consultation process which led to the formulation of the Corporate Plan for the Province acknowledged the existence of such attitudes and resulting actions, and incorporated into the Corporate Plan a section stressing the need for ethical behaviour.


Such provisions are no more than theory however unless they are backed up with sanctions which are applied promptly and forcefully. It appears at times that the call of “big issues” in the areas of administration at Province, Division or school level consume leaders or administrators to the extent that “housekeeping” issues such as attendance and punctuality (and even use of funds) are not supervised carefully enough and the ethical dimensions required not enforced. HRD needs to be active and pre-emptive in this regard and if this is not the case, then the enforcement of ethical principles does not stand a chance. Leaders at Province, Division and school level also need to lead by example. The principle of “Don’t do as I do, do as I say” is often the norm however, and this entrenches the “culture” which has been referred to. At the Provincial level, a section has been written into the Corporate Plan endorsing ethical behaviour and practice. At the Divisional level, policies have involved the following:

▪ close scrutiny of Resumption Forms for teachers to ensure that they have not been completed “on the street”;

▪ the requirement that all absences by Divisional staff be covered by a Absence/Leave Form and a similar policy circulated to all schools with regard to teachers’ absences;

▪ much tighter control of financial management matters;

▪ acquittals for SIMG, BEDP funds, LDD funds;

▪ use of public monies in regard to Office telephone and vehicle;

▪ allocation of leave fares;

▪ depositing of National and Provincial Grants directly into school accounts (as opposed to handing out cheques to head teachers to be cashed at trade stores);

▪ forceful vocal opposition to teachers taking bribes to Port Moresby to seek payment of claims It is obvious that at the Provincial level there is a long way to go. The submission of Absence Forms from the Division of Education elicited from a senior HRD officer the comment that no other Division submits Sick Leave or Absence Forms. At the Divisional level actions taken have met with opposition from some teachers:

▪ where RoDSS have been found to be completed before the teacher is on location the forms have not been signed by the Division;

▪ where teachers are confirmed to be absent for long periods Provincial Suspension Forms have been forwarded to TSC;

▪ teachers have been required to complete Absence Forms when visiting the Provincial Office or if they are seen in the town and if the reason for absence from school location is legitimate then the Form is endorsed accordingly and the teacher is not penalized (This action has created most opposition which is understandable when considered in the light of Neville Saunderson’s comment in 2005 that he was pleased to be visiting the healthiest province in the country because no Sick Leave forms were forwarded from Sandaun province in 2004);

▪ two teachers have so far been referred to the police in regard to misuse of funds for LDD Grants; and

▪ the constant stream of teachers streaming to the Indonesian border to fulfill the “shopping list” required by officers of the National Payroll section of NDoE (bottles of “Drum” whisky, slots of “Marco Polo” cigarettes, and certain other less-mentionable requirements) have been denounced openly and forcefully and frequently whilst the teachers in remote schools have been informed that their claims for entitlements have possibly not been actioned.

At the Provincial level, the implementation of the Corporate Plan needs to be accompanied by the prompt and forceful implementation of sanctions if the provisions regarding ethical practices are breached. For actions taken by the Division backup is required at NDoE level to eliminate the practice of acceptance of bribes as a pre-requisite for processing of claims etc. Action on decisions regarding Provincial Suspension Forms must be more prompt.


Once the Provincial Corporate Plan is circulated, Divisions and schools should be encouraged to develop similar plans for their own workplace. The training of head teachers is an urgent necessity and emphasis on the need to demand ethical behaviour from teachers and students should be an essential part of any such training program. The empowerment of Boards of Management which has been started through BEDP should be encouraged as a means of demanding ethical behaviour from teachers and students.

Organization of the Plan The plan comprise of a number of sections as outlined below. Section 1: Introduction This section provides the background information and an overview of the plan. Section 2: Situational Analysis This section provides information establishing the basis for the plan. It describes the process involved in the consultation, data collection and analysis and presents the existing situation and identifies the key issues under each sector of education including elementary education, primary education, secondary education, distance education, vocational education, technical education and administration of education services. The analysis by each sector is presented under the main interest areas of access to education, quality of education and management of education. Section 3: The Vision 2007-2014 This section establishes the visions for education in Province by sector. Section 4: The Provincial Education Plan 2007-2014 Based on the situational analysis, this section outlines the plan for education in the province from 2007 to 2014 inline with the National Education Plan. The section starts with the definition of the main terms used in the plan and the reasons for the use of these terms. The presentation of the plan is by each sector of education under the main interest areas of access to education, quality of curriculum, quality of teacher education and training and management of education. The presentation under each sector starts with the description of a major outcome followed by several minor outcomes under each interest areas. Each minor outcome is labelled with relevant initial and number (eg: Minor Outcome E1 for elementary education and Minor Outcome P1 for primary education, etc.) for ease of reference under Section 5: Implementing the Plan. The strategies and activities are provided at the end of each interest areas followed by identification of roles and responsibilities of stakeholders at the end of each sector. Section 5: Implementing the Plan This section outlines how the plan as described in Section 4 will be implemented. It describes the minor outcomes, strategies and activities under each education sector with allocation of estimated timeframe and responsible agencies required for effective implementation respective minor outcomes, strategies and activities over the life of the plan. It further describes the organizational arrangements for the implementation of the plan. Section 6: Financing the Plan This section outlines the financing requirement of the plan. It describes the financial sources for the plan and the indicative provincial costs for the deployment of teachers and the cost for educating a child for the different sectors of education. It further describes the arrangements for the provision of school subsidies for the province. The final part of this section describes the cost sharing arrangements between the national, provincial and local level governments, the church agencies, the communities and parents. Section 7: Monitoring and Evaluating the Plan This section describes how the plan implementation will be monitored and evaluated over the plan period. It describes the framework for monitoring and evaluating the plan and presents a checklist of outcomes, strategies and activities and the means of verifying effective implementation



SITUATIONAL ANALYSISSITUATIONAL ANALYSISSITUATIONAL ANALYSISSITUATIONAL ANALYSIS


SUMMARY OF EDUCATION

SECTION 2 – SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

INTRODUCTION

This section presents the results of the process of consultation, reading, digesting, analysis and presentation of the existing situation with a view to understanding the past and present situation relating to educational status of the people of Sandaun Province. The process involved is sixfold:

▪ first, receiving a directive from the National Department of Education to formulate a Provincial Education Plan;

▪ second, the establishment of a Provincial Education Plan Consultative Group to provide guidance on the content of the plan;

▪ third, the appointment of a professional planner to be responsible for the writing of the draft of the plan;

▪ fourth, the collection, reading and digesting of desktop information mainly from the Provincial Education Office and other sources;

▪ fifth, the conducting of district meetings and consultations; and

▪ sixth, the drafting of the plan. The presentation of the results of this process starts with the analysis of the situation in the main education sectors and the administration of education. The analysis under each education sector begins with the definition of the sector and then presents the situation in the areas of access; quality and management.

Apart from maintaining consistency with the National Education Plan by centring the situational analysis under access, quality curriculum, quality teacher training and management, additional areas of interest were included in the Provincial situational analysis. These localised interest areas include the need to understand the Provincial issues relating to the implementation of the reformed curriculum; teacher training and placement; school materials and infrastructure and the management of the provision of education services in the province.

The analysis concludes with the summary of issues under each sector of education. It is anticipated that summary of issues for each education sector should provide the basis for the following section on the Plan for the province, hence localising the Plan instead of cutting and pasting from the National Education Plan.

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

Definition

Elementary Education is the first stage of the formal education system in Papua New Guinea. It consists of an Elementary Preparatory Grade (EP), Elementary Grade 1 (E1) and Elementary Grade 2 (E2). The language of learning in elementary school is in the language of the child’s community and introduction of common English words between E1 and E2. These three years of education adequately prepare a child for entry into primary school at Grade 3.

Access

The introduction of Elementary Education into West Sepik Province has followed an often unpredictable and illogical pattern. The first elementary schools were established in 1997 as feeder schools to Vanimo Primary School and Dapu Primary School in the Vanimo Urban area. However in the following years elementary schools were established in areas where no primary school eventuated, while primary schools were established in other areas without feeder elementary schools having been set up. This has led to the intended system for Basic Education in the Education Reform process (viz. 3 years of elementary education, followed by 5 years at a primary school) not being implemented in many areas.

Thus, although Elementary Education is intended to be the first stage of the formal education system in Papua New Guinea under the Reform system, this is not the reality for all parts of Sandaun Province. Elementary Education has not been set up in some areas and in these areas for children the first stage of formal education continues to be Grade One at a community school. There is then a dual system in operation for early childhood


education in the Province, although progress is gradually being made in introducing the Reform into remote areas where there are as yet no elementary schools.

It is estimated that in 2006, out of 18,000 children of elementary school age in the province, about 8,400 (only 47%) were undertaking elementary education. This figure does not give a totally accurate picture of the number of children of elementary school age who were actually receiving education because of the many areas in which elementary education has not been introduced and where children are starting their education at Grade One in a community school.

The situation is clear however that many school age children are either not attending school or are attending school but do not stay in school, particularly in the remote schools due to lack of school fees, lack of teachers and lack of teaching materials.

There were 324 elementary schools in the Province by end of 2006. At the same period, 48 schools ceased to operate and were closed and 279 are currently operating

Table 5 Total enrolment between 2002 and 2006

Gender 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

M 1836 1606 2008 1835 1691

Prep F 1673 1346 1683 1762 1850

T 3509 2952 3690 3597 3541

M 1342 1575 1969 2243 2540

Elem 1 F 1238 1297 1621 1857 2088

T 2580 2872 3590 4100 4628

M 977 1350 1688 2018 2364

Elem 2 F 895 1218 1523 1817 2129

T 1872 2568 3210 3835 4492

M 4155 4531 5664 6096 6594

F 3806 3861 4826 5436 6067

Total T 7961 8392 10490 11532 12661

It is pleasing to see that there are almost equal numbers of boys and girls receiving education at this level, but attrition rates are high especially in the more remote areas.

A feature which has been noticed in remote areas where elementary education has been recently introduced is the number of over-aged children who seek entry to elementary school. This has been noticed particularly in the Telefomin District.

There are indications of strong enthusiasm by the communities in regard to the introduction of elementary education whereby early childhood learning is brought to the communities. Where elementary education has been introduced however, there is widespread concern among parents and the wider community about the standards of the present outcomes of elementary education.

The community interest in elementary education is also being hampered by the realities of vastly dispersed population which do not have the enrolment numbers and lack of curriculum and other support materials to start schools. This has resulted in the closure of 48 schools.

Curriculum

There are eighty-six main languages in the province. Vernacular programmes have been established in the six districts since the 1960s. Almost all of these programmes are run by the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL). Eighteen of these languages already have orthographies written by SIL Linguists. This will continue until all the main languages are completed.Project submissions are to be written and forwarded for funding by LLGs JDBPBPC.There are complex language issues in the Sandaun Province due to the large number of small languages.

The Table 6 below shows the language and the approximate dates of completion of orthographies by district.


Table 6 Orthography Chart By Language

District Language Linguist Completion Year

Vanimo/Green Angor SIL 1960

Vanimo/Green Abau SIL 1970

Vanimo/Green Nai SIL 1980

Vanimo/Green Walsa SIL 1970

Vanimo/Green Fas SIL 1970

Vanimo/Green Kwomtari SIL 1990

Vanimo/Green Karkaryuri SIL 1970

Vanimo/Green Amanab SIL 1960

Aitape/Lumi Olo SIL 1980

Aitape/Lumi Namia SIL Unknown

Aitape/Lumi Bouye SIL 1990

Aitape/Lumi Tokon SIL 1980

Aitape/Lumi Mende SIL 1990

Vanimo/Green Dumo SIL 1994

Nuku Makru SIL Unknown

Nuku Beli SIL Unknown

Nuku Au SIL Unknown

Aitape/Lumi Barupu SIL Unknown

In schools in urban areas where there are children with a range of TokPleses, the choice seems to have been to adopt Tok Pisin as the medium of instruction. The alternative possibility, English, has not been adopted in any of the elementary schools in Sandaun Province. There is concern among many parents in town areas that Tok Pisin is not a suitable medium of instruction and provides children with few if any of the benefits associated with the use of TokPles in early childhood learning. There is a preference for the use of English but it would seem that there is a general unawareness that it is possible to use English in elementary schools in such areas.

There is widespread concern among parents and the wider community about the standards of the present outcomes of elementary education.

The first concern is always in regard to literacy. Parents express disappointment that their children are not able to read and write to a standard which the parents find acceptable. Parents have an expectation that by the start of Grade 3 children will be able to write their own name, write sentences, and read – in English. Literacy in tok ples is not considered to be an achievement in regard to education. (There is a very serious deficiency in the awareness of parents regarding the Reform Curriculum especially in regard to the fact that “bridging” from the language of elementary school to English is supposed to take place continuously until Grade 5. Only in Grade 6 is the language of instruction solely English). It would appear however that there is strong support within the general public for the “bridging” process introducing English into the curriculum should start much earlier than is the case at present.

There would seem to be good support in principle for the aims and goals of Elementary Education in regard to using tok ples as the medium of instruction as a way of imbuing a strong feeling of the importance of local culture in young children.

A more difficult problem in regard to the use of tok ples as the medium of instruction occurs in regard to the teaching of numeracy. Most local languages do not have words to describe the mathematical operations of addition and subtraction, much less multiplication and more sophisticated mathematical operations. There is real concern that because of the deficiencies of the local languages to be able to describe mathematical processes or operations, children are completing Elementary Education with very low numeracy skills. There is a strong feeling that another reason for introducing the “bridging” to English at an earlier level of Elementary Education is that this would allow numeracy skills to be taught more effectively than at present.

In regard to elementary curriculum, there seems to be a complete unawareness in communities regarding the role expected to be played by the community in developing a local elementary curriculum. Curriculum Development Advisory Committees in communities are virtually, possibly totally, non-existent, and the burden of preparing a curriculum falls on teachers who respond in often less than positive ways. There would appear to


have been a general lack of awareness conveyed to communities at the introduction of elementary education regarding the importance of this sector of education, the essential nature of elementary education and how it fits into the overall education picture, and, perhaps most importantly, the need for community involvement in a number of vital aspects of elementary education, including the development of a local curriculum.

Teacher Training and Placement

There is shortage of adequately trained elementary school teachers in the province. A total of 258 elementary schools were established by 2006 with a total of 630 teaching positions created. This gives a 2.4 teacher per school. An ideal situation is to have 645 teachers for 258 schools based on 2.5 teachers per school or better still to have 774 teachers for 258 schools based on 3 teachers per school. Should this ideal be the case, then there is shortage of 15 or 144 teachers respectively for two ideal scenarios at the present time.

There is a very serious concern among the general public regarding the quality and competence of elementary teachers. The starting point for this problem is felt to start before training process for elementary teachers begins: the selection and appointment of elementary teachers by communities is often not based on quality. Communities are often unaware of the essential requirements, or at least desirable attributes, for an elementary teacher, and so other considerations such as family relationships play a major part in the selection of candidates for elementary training. The Provincial Education Board (PEB) which is given the task of endorsing or approving selections is normally presented with a list of the candidates nominated by communities. In the absence of any sort of list of possible candidates for each position being submitted to the PEB, the PEB functions as a “rubber stamp” for the often biased and often ill-founded selections made by communities. It is felt that far more direction needs to be given to communities with regard to the selection of candidates for elementary training or far more scrutiny applied to the choices made by communities before approval is given for appointment by the PEB. Elementary education is intended to be community-based and the involvement of the community in the selection of candidates for training as elementary teachers must be retained. For these selections to be appropriate however, the choices must be made by a community which is aware of the essential nature of elementary education and the requirements for candidates who aspire to be elementary teachers.

In some instances, education agencies have imposed candidates on communities or vetoed the selection of particular candidates. It has to be emphasised that the ultimate decision with regard to the selection of candidates for elementary training rests with the community.

The other pressing issues regarding quantity and quality of elementary teachers can be summarised as: lack of, or inadequate, trainers in the districts to conduct teacher training and placement; inadequate and inappropriate training conducted, and lack of personal incentives in terms of wages, housing and career development.

Adequate and relevant teacher training is vital for the achievement of a satisfactory standard of elementary education. There are still vacancies to fill in districts for elementary trainers who shall be responsible for the training, placement and inspection of elementary teachers at the district level. The national ratio for trainee to trainer is 35:1. Based on the number of elementary schools per district and the geographical and other difficulties, the number of elementary teacher trainers required for each district is shown in Table 7 below.


Table 7 Teacher Trainer Requirement by District

District No. of Schools Required Trainers Currently Available

To be Recruited

Aitape/Lumi 68 3 2 1

Nuku 72 3 1 2

Vanimo/Green 73 4 3 1

Telefomin 45 4 2 2

Provincial 258 14 8 6

Teacher supervision is supposed to be an on-going source of support and direction carried out by trainers for teachers in the field. The reluctance of some trainers to take up their proper posting and then to perform active and effective supervision of teachers has been a major contributor to poor standards by teachers in the elementary sector.

School Materials and Infrastructure

Kits of materials for elementary schools were inefficiently delivered to schools in the Province in 2004, but since this time there has been no issue of materials.

There seems to be a general lack of awareness among communities regarding the supply of elementary materials. Communities are unaware of their responsibility to supply elementary materials. When a new elementary school is approved by the PEB, application for registration is made to the National Department of Education. Once registration is granted, notification is sent by NDoE to the Curriculum Unit to supply Syllabuses for Elementary classes to the new school. Materials for new schools are however supposed to come from the community. A Curriculum Development Advisory Committee supervises the development and production of these materials. In some cases formal materials are not required, but initiatives such as inviting old people from the community to teach and inform children can be employed. There is very little evidence of the involvement of communities in this aspect of elementary education.

Most elementary schools in the province do not have appropriate materials and supplies to conduct classes. Many communities in the province are unaware of their responsibility in regard to the provision of curriculum materials, and also most are economically and financially disadvantaged, hence are not able to support their schools with learning materials and supplies.

The external infrastructure such as land, sea and air transport, telecommunication, water and sanitation which are needed to support elementary education are either in very poor state or non existent. Many very remote communities face the very high cost of transportation and an almost total lack of communication which profoundly affect the operations of their schools.

Management

The management of elementary education in the Province since its introduction into West Sepik Province has been less than satisfactory.

The process of school registration has been particularly slow and has led to unnecessary delays in establishing elementary schools throughout the Province. School registration is granted at the National level, but efficient submission of data must be done at Provincial level, and follow-up monitoring must be continued until the registration is granted. This has not happened and schools have remained operational but unregistered for periods of months and years.

A consequence of the failure to ensure that schools are registered has been totally unacceptable delays in teachers being put on the payroll and receiving salaries. In some cases, these delays have been as long as five years. This situation appears to be improving gradually but a concerted effort by the National Department of Education and the Provincial Division of Education must ensure that such situations are never allowed to occur again.

Technical support from District and Provincial Education officials requires attention and improvement. The training and placement of elementary trainer/inspector in districts is slow due lack of proper planning and


coordination. Even when appointments of such officers are made, essential field visits by these officers seem to occur in a random and irregular fashion.

The Province acquired a poor reputation during the introduction of elementary teacher training for the management of funds for elementary teacher training. The misuse of funds was extensive and extremely costly. With the appointment of a Provincial Elementary Teacher Training Coordinator (PETTC), this situation has been reined in, and it is important that the management of training funds remains under the control of the PETTC rather than be de-centralised to Districts.

At the local level of the elementary school, the school administration and management comprise the day to day running of the school under the responsibility of the head teacher; the policy making of the school under the Board of Management; and the general support to the school by the parents and citizens of the local community. In general the school administration in most schools in the province requires close attention and supervision as most of the head teachers do not have adequate training in school administration. The same applies to the Board of Management and more so in the remote schools whereby the members of Board are not able contribute meaningfully to the policy making and management of the schools due little or no education and management experience. In addition, the general community support varies greatly between remote schools and those that have access to good support infrastructure and income generating opportunities. Where communities have taken a positive interest in the operation of the elementary school, the school functions well and the presence of the school has an overall beneficial effect o the local community. In many places however communities are not involved in the operation and management of the elementary school because they are unaware that they are supposed to be involved.

In some communities where the elementary school is situated close to the primary or community school, separate Boards of Management for the two institutions have been established because this was thought to be a requirement of the system. This has led on some occasions to a lack of coordination between the two institutions. The Education Act does in fact allow for a single Board of Management to administer both the primary and the elementary school.

Summary of Issues

Based on the present situation discussed above, a number of pressing issues specific to elementary education in the province were identified and are summarised below:

▪ there is widespread lack of awareness in the Province regarding the role of the elementary sector in the overall National Education System;

▪ the logical implementation of the Education Reform system has not been followed in many areas in regard to the introduction of elementary education;

▪ there is a need to establish elementary schools in areas where a primary school has been established without the prior establishment of elementary feeder schools

▪ lack of proper planning and/or political influence has resulted in the establishment of too many elementary schools in certain areas and as a result some schools have now been closed;

▪ establishment of elementary schools to be based on the realities in the district without influence or coercion from the province or another district.

▪ geographic difficulties and remoteness is a major hindrance to proper establishment of elementary schools;

▪ lack of support infrastructure and facilities (transport, telecommunication and others) are major hindrances to the progress of elementary education;

▪ there is widespread lack of awareness within communities regarding the community’s role in building an maintaining elementary schools, selecting teachers for the school, helping to develop curriculum, and participating in the management of the school;

▪ selection of teachers by communities for elementary training is often based on criteria which do not ensure that the most appropriate candidate is chosen;

▪ Curriculum Development Advisory Committees formed from the community served by the school exist in few, if any, elementary schools;

▪ concern exists among many parents in regard to the standards of literacy and numeracy of children completing E2 at elementary schools and attempting to enter Grade 3 at primary schools;


▪ the need to implement bridging to English earlier than E2 is supported by many communities

▪ lack of awareness among urban communities that English can be chosen as the language of instruction where there is no common tok ples and English is widely-used in the community;

▪ local teachers often are not fluent in their local language;

▪ terms for processes or operations used in numeracy are absent from the tok ples of most areas;

▪ inadequate and inappropriate training of elementary teachers resulting in poor standard of teaching and poor preparation of children to attend primary education;

▪ lack of monitoring of schools by elementary trainers/inspectors results in inefficient school operation and ineffective teaching;

▪ delays in the registration of elementary schools has slowed the expansion of elementary education throughout the Province

▪ very lengthy delays are common in elementary teachers being put on the payroll and receiving salaries

▪ there are over aged children in elementary schools (Telefomin District)


PRIMARY EDUCATION

Definition

In the National Education Plan, 2005 – 2014, Primary Education is defined as beginning at Grade 3 and finishing at Grade 8. (It is preceded by Elementary Education, EP – E2, and followed by Secondary Education, Grades 9 – 12).

Primary education caters for the 9 to 14 years age group in which lower primary education comprises Grade 3, 4 and 5 and upper primary comprises Grades 6, 7 and 8.

Because of the difficult geography of Sandaun Province and consequent communication difficulties, the Education Reform – which is ideally realized in the structure of Primary Education described – has not been fully implemented in several regions of the Province.

For this reason then, the definition of Primary Education in Sandaun Province must also include, for the time, being a structure as follows:

Grades 1 to 6 taught at Community School (with no preceding

Elementary Education);followed by Grades 7 to 10 taught at a conventional High School.

Access

a. Access to Primary Schools (Grades 3 – 8) The establishment of primary schools began in 1997 after the first elementary schools were established in the Vanimo area in 1996. Vanimo and Dapu Community Schools began enrolling their first Grade 7 classes in 1997 and changed their status to Primary Schools. In 1998 Baro Community School enrolled its first Grade 7 classes after having established elementary schools at Yako and Waromo villages.

The Education Reform expanded slowly but the programme at elementary and primary level gradually extended to the other districts of Aitape, Lumi, Nuku, Amanab and Telefomin in the old provincial structure.

The Province established 50 Primary Schools between 1997 and 2003 as Table 8 shows:

Table 8 Primary schools established in Sandaun province between 1997 – 2003

School

Code

School Name Agency District Year Established

60-001 Aitape Govt Aitape-Lumi 2002

60-429 St Anna Catholic Aitape-Lumi 2000

60-433 Pes Catholic Aitape-Lumi 2000

60-422 Ulau Catholic Aitape-Lumi 2003

60-019 Areki Govt Aitape-Lumi 2002

60-496 Amu Catholic Aitape-Lumi 2001

60-062 Aipokon Govt Aitape-Lumi 2002

60-468 Rainakir (Malol) Catholic Aitape-Lumi 2002

60-411 Arop Catholic Aitape-Lumi 2002

60-064 Wauroin Govt Aitape-Lumi 2002

60-567 Wiypom Govt Aitape-Lumi 2003

60-428 Olbrum (Sissano) Catholic Aitape-Lumi 2001

60-439 Barupu Catholic Aitape-Lumi 2001

60-040 Tabale Govt Aitape-Lumi 2000

60-425 Lumi Catholic Aitape-Lumi 2002

60-415 Fatima Catholic Aitape-Lumi 2002

60-418 Laingim Catholic Nuku 2003

60-200 Anguganak E.A. Nuku 2001

60-218 Arkosame E.A. Nuku 2001

60-416 Kafle Catholic Nuku 2001

60-420 Namblo Catholic Nuku 2002

60-009 Nukuanglo Govt Nuku 2000

60-039 Nuku Admin Govt Nuku 2000

60-443 Puang Catholic Nuku 2001

60-432 Seim Catholic Nuku 2001

60-203 Sibilanga E.A Nuku 2003


60-423 Wati Catholic Nuku 2000

60-215 Wulbowe E.A. Nuku 2003

60-435 Ningil Catholic Nuku 2002

60-431 Wassisi Catholic Nuku 2002

60-033 Bak Govt Telefomin 2002

60-022 Divinapmin Govt Telefomin 2001

60-004 Eliptamin Govt Telefomin 2002

60-021 Framin Govt Telefomin 2002

60-205 Tekin E.A. Telefomin 2001

60-015 Telefomin Govt Telefomin 2002

60-227 Tomianap E.A. Telefomin 2003

60-011 Oksapmin Govt Telefomin 2001

60-207 Yellow River E.A. Telefomin 2003

60-002 Amanab Govt Vanimo-Green 2001

60-005 Green River Govt Vanimo-Green 2001

60-441 Wasengla Catholic Vanimo-Green 2002

60-440 Utai Catholic Vanimo-Green 2002

60-465 Mukwais E.A. Vanimo-Green 2002

60-413 Baro Catholic Vanimo-Green 1998

60-470 Damili Catholic Vanimo-Green 2000

60-003 Dapu Govt Vanimo-Green 1997

60-436 Leitre Catholic Vanimo-Green 2003

60-011 Pagei Govt Vanimo-Green 2003

60-016 Vanimo Govt Vanimo-Green 1997

There were no Primary Schools established in 2004 and 2005 because the PEB was non-functional, and none in 2006 because the PEB was reconstituted in 2005 only after the March 31st deadline for the nominations for new schools for the following year.

The PEB is 2006 approved the establishment of 18 Primary Schools for 2007.

Table 9 Primary schools established in Sandaun province in 2007

School

Code

School Name Agency District

60-424 Suain Catholic Aitape-Lumi

60-018 Yakamul Govt Aitape-Lumi

60-203 Eritei E.A. Aitape-Lumi

60-426 Karaitem Catholic Aitape-Lumi

60-442 Yauluwape Catholic Aitape-Lumi

60-206 Yebil E.A. Aitape-Lumi

60-472 Bimon Catholic Nuku

60- Woluk Catholic Nuku

60-434 Mukili Catholic Nuku

60-469 Wanap Catholic Nuku

60-220 Yelbu E.A. Nuku

60-050 Moas Govt Vanimo-Green

60-219 Ibru E.A. Vanimo-Green

60-024 Mianmin Govt Telefomin

60-032 Tifalmin Govt Telefomin

60-034 Bimin Govt Telefomin

60-226 Mitihanap E.A. Telefomin

This brought the number of primary schools in Sandaun Province at the start of 2007 to 68 out of a total of 208 schools in the Primary (primary schools and community schools) sector.

The draft Provincial Education Plan 1996 – 2004 for West Sepik Province did not indicate clearly the implementation schedule for the establishment of new primary schools in the four Districts of West Sepik Province. This resulted in a number of primary schools being established without proper planning to determine their effectiveness and sustainability.

• One thing is very clear regarding the process of conversion of community schools to primary schools: in the period 1997 – 2003 there was a very definite imbalance within the Province


• between Districts, and

• between regions, or sub-districts (LLGs) within a particular District From Table 10 the following statistics can be derived:

Table 10 Establishment of primary schools by district 1997-2003

DISTRICT No. of

Schools

SUB-DISTRICT No. of

Schools

REGIONS No. of

Schools

AITAPE-LUMI 16 Aitape 13 West Coast 9

East Coast 1

Aitape Town 2

Inland 1

Lumi 3

NUKU 14 Disproportionate

Number in Nuku

Central

VANIMO-

GREEN RIVER

11 Vanimo 6

Green River 5

TELEFOMIN 9 Telefomin 4

Oksapmin 5

b. Access to Community Schools (Grades 1-6)

By the end of 2005, 192 community and primary schools were established in the province. Of these, 137 community schools were still running Grades 1 to 6 classes while 55 primary schools started running Grades 3 to 8 classes under the new reformed system.

There were no new community schools opened in 2006 because the PEB had not been re-formed in time to allow new schools to be endorsed.

In 2007 sixteen (16) new community schools started operation in remote parts of the Province

Table 11 New community schools established in 2007

School

Code

School Name Agency District

60-570 Amsuku Catholic Aitape-Lumi

60-571 Blama Evangelical Alliance Aitape-Lumi

60-572 Bluwo Evangelical Alliance Aitape-Lumi

60-575 Kakoi Evangelical Alliance Aitape-Lumi

60-576 Kara Ausi Government Aitape-Lumi

60-579 Mamude Catholic Aitape-Lumi

60-580 Matapau Government Aitape-Lumi

60-581 Maurom Evangelical Alliance Aitape-Lumi

60-578 Maimai Government Nuku

60-584 Yimin Catholic Nuku

60-573 Busulmin Government Telefomin

60-569 Amini Evangelical Alliance Vanimo-Green

60-574 Hogru Evangelical Alliance Vanimo-Green

60-577 Kuwaramun Evangelical Alliance Vanimo-Green

60-582 Naitu Evangelical Alliance Vanimo-Green

60-583 Weiku Evangelical Alliance Vanimo-Green

Table 12 below shows the distribution of Community and Primary Schools by district and agency by start of 2007:

Table 12 Existing Community and Primary Schools by District and Agency


DISTRICT

NUMBER OF SCHOOLS BY AGENCY TOTAL GOVT. CATHOLIC E/ALLIANCE

Comm. Primary Comm. Primary Comm. Primary

AITAPE/LUMI 12 7 13 13 12 4 61

VANIMO/GREEN 20 6 14 5 17 2 64

NUKU 9 3 14 12 4 4 46

TELEFOMIN 14 9 3 1 6 4 37

TOTAL 208

In 2006, it was estimated that out of approximately 41,000 children of primary school age, 26,000 were in school which translates into an access rate of 63%.

The actual enrolment by grade, gender and year between 2002 and 2006 is shown in Table 00 below. The enrolments show a general increase in annual enrolments for all grades over the four year period since the start of the reform in the province. Female enrolments represent more than 40% of the total primary school age population while male accounts for more than 50% which indicates a small difference and further indicates a good improvement for female children having access to community and primary education. Despite the increase in enrolments, attrition rates are still high and in some remote schools the rate is as high as 30% where inability of parents to pay school fees is the major contributing factor.

Table 13 Total enrolments by grade, gender and year, 2002-2006

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

GRADE 1 M 1779 1284 1188 1914 1726

F 1408 933 870 1401 1617

T 3187 2217 2058 3315 3167

GRADE 2 M 2163 1923 1962 1277 1415

F 1552 1491 1519 1097 1144

T 3715 3414 3482 2374 2541

GRADE 3 M 2451 3075 3147 2117 1886

F 2009 2158 2229 1683 1407

T 4460 5233 5376 3800 3287

GRADE 4 M 2063 2515 2572 2156 1888

F 1579 1979 2039 1660 1366

T 3642 4494 4610 3816 3123

GRADE 5 M 2017 2116 2202 1975 1430

F 1522 1595 1668 1437 1303

T 3539 3711 3870 3420 3164

GRADE 6 M 1501 1953 1994 1365 1482

F 1198 1463 1520 1200 1042

T 2699 3416 3513 2565 2515

GRADE 7 M 744 1017 1144 995 1398

F 568 871 980 748 3025

T 1312 1888 2124 1743 1374

GRADE 8 M 550 780 878 909 702

F 333 518 583 661 560

T 883 1298 1460 1570 1262

TOTAL M 13268 14663 15086 12654 14308

F 10169 11008 11408 9915 11459

T 23437 25671 26494 22549 25767

It is not feasible to expand all community schools to primary schools taking on Grades 7 and 8 due to biannual and triennial enrolments and lower academic results. Considerations can be given to concept of large central primary schools which have continuous annual enrolments and can take in Grade 6 from surrounding community schools.


The overall shortage and lack of teachers (250 unfilled funded teaching positions in the past two years, 2005 and 2006) particularly in the remote schools in the province has contributed to biannual and triennial enrolments, hence inhibiting access to primary education for children in remote areas. Attracting teachers to remote areas is a major problem. The district consultation revealed that a lack of or poor teacher housing, high freight cost, high cost of living and other hardship incentives are the main reasons for teachers not wishing to serve in remote schools.

Provisions are being made to make primary education accessible to disabled children. A particular move has been made at St. Anna Primary School in Aitape Town to cater for an increased number of disabled school age children in the Aitape West Coast area following the 1998 Aitape tsunami disaster. Hearing-impaired children will be catered for initially at Baro Primary School near Vanimo. The provisions in other schools are to be considered in due course.

A small International Education Agency (IEA) primary school exists in Vanimo Town in premises owned by Vanimo Forest Products. It applied for registration as a Permitted School in 2003 but was not granted this status because of deficiencies in regard to space and certain outdoor facilities for children identified in an Inspection Report by the Secondary and the Senior Primary School Inspectors. It has obtained special permission in recent years from the Secretary for Education for its small number of Grade 8 students to sit for the National Certificate of Basic Education (COBE) Examination.

Curriculum

Reports from School Inspectors indicate that the Reform Curriculum is only being implemented in schools in the larger towns such as Vanimo and Aitape; schools outside these areas are still in the main using the old curriculum.

The National Education Plan indicated that the curriculum materials for upper primary (including Grade Seven new syllabus, Grade Seven teacher guides and an implementation support booklet for head teachers) were distributed to schools in 2003 for implementation in 2004. In the mean time the materials for lower primary were being finalised and were to be distributed to schools in 2005 to be implemented in 2006.

• The distribution and utilisation of these curriculum materials in the province has been very uneven. There is need for proper evaluation study to determine actual implementation of the reformed curriculum materials. Numerous status reports by Mr. Frank Evans, the Provincial Education Adviser and a report by Mr. Johnny Michael, Senior Primary School Inspector highlighted significant problems encountered during the process of establishing the primary schools and distribution and implementation of new curriculum materials to the primary schools in the province. The specific problems in curriculum include the following:

▪ majority of teachers are either not well informed or still waiting to be in-serviced on the new curriculum for Lower and Upper Primary Schools and Bridging in Grade 3 classes due to remote and geographical locations, unavailability of curriculum materials and qualified personnel to conduct in-service and the lack of sufficient funds for in-service and training purposes;

▪ the implementation of bridging in some of the Primary Schools (eg: Damili Primary School in Vanimo) failed whereby grade 3 teachers continue to use outdated and unapproved curriculum materials to teach despite repeated advice from inspectors not to do so;

▪ provincial education authorities failed to give proper training to all primary school teachers in the province on the bridging and the use of new curriculum;

▪ there are indications of absence in the curriculum materials dealing with practical skills subjects such as agriculture, practical skills, home economics and expressive arts; and

The problems above suggest that there is still a lot of work to be done for effective implementation of reformed curriculum for lower and upper primary education in the province. These problems further suggest that the new provincial education plan should provide the framework for effective implementation of the reformed curriculum and more so the need to make the primary school curriculum more relevant to the community which the school serves.



The total number of staff actually teaching in primary/community schools over the period 2000-2004 is shown in table 14 below. Each year they have infect many more funded teaching positions for community/primary schools available in the province then there have been teachers to fill them. Of the total funded positions there has been a significant number of positions, sometime in access of 250, which have not been filled each year.

The main reason for this shortage is twofold:

▪ it is difficult to attract teachers from outside the province to come to teach in remotes schools due to high travel costs, high living costs and lack of proper health facilities; and

▪ the province is unable to produce sufficient teachers from the province to place them back in their respective localities.

Further to the reasons for the shortage of teachers stated above, there are several other issues on teacher quality and quantity including:

▪ teacher training in the primary sector prior to the introduction of education reform was open to students who completed Grade 10 at high school and the trainees would undertake a two-year Teaching Certificate course – there are cases where teachers teaching in primary schools who entered teaching from Grade 8 and later upgraded their basic educational qualifications; such teachers felt unequal to the task of addressing the new curriculum, or unwilling to undertake the training necessary to enable them to teach the new curriculum;

▪ recent graduates from teachers colleges have Grade 12 qualifications and have studied for three years Diploma in Primary Teaching;

▪ there is great need for general upgrading of qualifications for those teachers who lack the basic ability to adapt to new curricula and approaches in teaching methods;

▪ an area of training which is required in all sectors of education is the specific training of selected personnel in educational leadership – Divine Word University offers a Masters Degree course in this respect, however it is beyond the means of many teachers; and

▪ the real need is training for head teachers from all sectors in basic administration, financial management, personnel management and curriculum implementation.

A further significant factor in delaying the more widespread implementation of the Reform Curriculum has been the fact that a Province-wide view was not adopted in the selection of teachers to undergo the upgrading training and to acquire the knowledge of the reform curriculum.

Table 14 Total primary and community school staffing by gender and selected years

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Male 450 402 452 457 535

Female 221 194 231 233 274

Total 671 596 683 690 809

All the issues stated above should be taken into consideration when planning for the future; however, the pressing key issue is the need to address the on-going problem of teacher shortage. This requires an immediate thorough assessment of the situation and to prepare a proposal with the plan and costing to identify, train and place teachers from the province into the schools of their local areas.

Some enterprising communities, particularly in the Oksapmin District, have taken the initiative in trying to address the problem of shortage of teachers in remote areas. They have sponsored local Grade 10 graduates who have not been selected for further training to undertake teacher training offered to Grade 10 graduates from remote areas in Primary Teachers’ Colleges such as Madang and Gaulim. This is a programme which can be made us of by other communities although it does involve significant cost for the communities.


Many primary schools in the province do not have, or struggle to provide, the required and appropriate materials and supplies to conduct classes. Some schools receive no materials at all while others receive supplies very late. A Project undertaken under the Service Improvement Programme (S.I.P.) has identified this problem and suggested a formal detailed proposal for improving the process of supply of curriculum materials to schools. Attention needs to be directed to implementing this proposal.


A problem area is the lack of materials and equipment to teach science subjects at upper primary classes.

Absence of libraries in schools is another major problem requiring urgent attention.

The introduction of AUSAID funded Basic Education Development Project (BEDP) in 2004-2005 has contributed greatly to the improvement of infrastructure development in schools, however much is yet to be desired in terms of sustainability of such support.

The external infrastructure such as land, sea and air transport, telecommunications, water supply and sanitation continue to be a real problem and vary from district to district. Many very remote communities face the very high cost of transportation and a total lack of communication to support their schools.

Management

A lack of effective awareness throughout the whole province by the “Provincial Education Reform Task Force” has resulted in the wide spread misconception of the concept of a primary and elementary education. Many parents and Boards of Management of community schools were refusing to allow their schools to shift into primary status but prefer to send their grade six students to conventional high schools.

Some decisions reached by individuals within the provincial and district education management hierarchy without due consultation on a province-wide basis have created imbalance in the distribution of primary schools within some of the districts of the province and threatens the success and sustainability of these primary schools. Some of these schools are already experiencing low enrolments and poor performance by their grade 8 students in their external examinations during the past 3-4 years. Steps have been taken at PEB level in 2005 and 2006 to attempt to redress the imbalance in the distribution of primary schools between districts.

Poor performances by unproductive staff at the provincial education office has resulted in delays in the distribution of school materials and supplies and on some occasions pay cheques and has created frustration among hard working teachers in schools.

It must be noted too however that a very negative attitude has however developed among some teachers regarding their attendance at classes and their obligations, both their professional obligation to teach children assigned to their care and their moral responsibility to the National Government (their employer) to put in a day’s work for a day’s pay. Many teachers resume late at the start of the school year, and for some years were permitted to sign Resumption of Duty forms before actually reaching their school location. This has now been curbed to a great extent but the practice still exists. Some teachers leave their locations without explanation and stay away for their classes for lengthy periods of time. This is evident in all districts – teachers coming to Vanimo from outlying schools and not returning; Telefomin and Oksapmin teachers travelling to Tabubil and remaining for long periods; Nuku teachers travelling to Wewak; and teachers coming to Aitape from east and west coast and inland schools. Such teachers can be recommended for suspension ffrom the payroll by the Provincial Education Adviser but the request for suspension must be backed up by firm reporting and evidence from the district or the individual schools affected.

Poor management at school level is a real concern, particularly the lack of understanding of issues and experience by members of the Boards of Management and lack of knowledge and experience in financial management and general school administration by head teachers and delegated administrators.

Summary of Issues Based on the present situation discussed above for primary education in the province a number of pressing issues were identified and are summarised below:

▪ geographic difficulties and remoteness are a major hindrance to the proper establishment of primary schools;

▪ community schools need to be retained in remote areas for some years in order to provide basic education to children from disadvantaged parts of the Provinces;

▪ consideration may be appropriate to allowing community schools to continue as lower primary and gradually transit to upper primary based on central boarding schools or cluster;

▪ certain districts (Telefomin and Vanimo-Green) be given the opportunity to trial the establishment of central boarding primary schools (cluster approach) due to isolation and remoteness of community schools;


▪ lack of proper planning, political influence and other factors have resulted in a disparity in the distribution of primary schools, in some cases contributing to low enrolments and poor academic performance;

▪ attrition rates at primary level in the Province are high especially in remote areas;

▪ limited economic activities throughout the Province contributes to inability of parents to pay school fees and make financial contribution to the development of schools;

▪ the reform curriculum has been adopted only in a minority of (mostly urban) schools;

▪ few schools in the Province have a functional library;

▪ there are shortage of appropriately qualified teachers for all the schools in the Province, hence need to give priority to teacher training and allow certain districts (Telefomin) to make use of their high number of Grade 10 leavers to undertake teacher training and be placed back into the district;

▪ teachers are reluctant to accept postings to remote schools because of lack of facilities in these areas and lack of incentives offered;

▪ inadequate and inappropriate training of teachers resulting in poor standard of teaching and poor preparation of children to attend secondary education;

▪ upgrading of teachers (through DEPI) is essential for the effective implementation of the Reform curriculum;

▪ release of teachers to attend upgrading training to be coordinated at the Provincial level (preferably by the Senior Standards Officer, Primary) to ensure that there is equitable distribution of training opportunities granted across the districts, but also to ensure that teaching in schools is not adversely affected by the absences of teachers attending training;

▪ the absence of specific training of personnel for leadership positions in schools has resulted in the appointment of headteachers who lack expertise in administration and management;

▪ lack of support infrastructure and facilities (transport, telecommunication and others) are major hindrances to the progress of primary education;

▪ considerations be given to the decentralisation of the responsibilities for teacher’s leave fares to trusted District Education Managers in the remote districts;

▪ lack, or non-availability, of resource materials in remote schools.

SECONDARY EDUCATION

Definition

Secondary Education in Sandaun Province must for the time being assume a different definition from that which is to be found in the National Education Plan. NEP covers Secondary Education in the Grades 9 to 12 with lower secondary being Grades 9 to 10 and upper being Grades 11 and 12.

In some parts of Sandaun Province for the next few years, lower Secondary Education will also embrace Grades 7 and 8. That is to say Grades 7 and 8 will continue to be taught in some high schools in the province until such time as there are sufficient and suitably located, Primary schools to cater for children from even the most remote locations in Grades 7 and 8. Upper secondary education, consistent with the NEP, means Grades 11 and 12.

Access

The opening of Oksapmin High School at the start of 2007 brought the number of secondary schools in the province to nine. Six of these are conventional high schools, Grades 7 to 10, some of them at various stages of adopting the reform set-up and discarding Grades 7 and 8, one (Oksapmin) a new Grade 9 -10 high school accepting its first intake in 2007 classes, and two secondary schools running Grades 9 to 12 as shown in Table 15 below. The number and distribution of schools throughout the province appears to be adequate and representative.


Table 15 Status of Schools conducting secondary education in the province at start of 2007

Schools District Existing Status

Agency Existing Grades

Reform Grades*

Gender Enrolmnt

St. Ignatius Aitape/Lumi Sec. School Catholic 9 – 12 9 – 12 Mixed

Aitape Aitape/Lumi High School Govt. 7 – 10 9 – 10 Mixed

Lumi Aitape/Lumi High School Govt. 7 – 10 9 – 10 Mixed

Nuku Nuku High School Catholic 8 – 10 9 – 10 Mixed

Telefomin Telefomin High School Govt. 8 – 10 9 – 10 Mixed

Oksapmin Telefomin High School EA 9 only 9 – 10 Mixed

Vanimo Vanimo/Green High School Govt. 7 – 10 9 – 10 Mixed

Don Bosco Vanimo/Green Sec. School Catholic 9 – 12 9 – 12 Male

Green River Vanimo/Green High School EA 7 – 10 9 – 10 Mixed

• There are other institutions in the Province offering secondary education in the Province:

• St John Vianney Minor Seminary is a Grade 9 – 12 Permitted School situated in Vanimo offering secondary education to male students only who have shown an interest in studying for the Catholic priesthood;

• Combases (Community-based Secondary School) is a Grade 9 – 12 school situated at Waromo near Vanimo which intends to apply for Permitted School status; * Vanimo Christian Academy situated in Vanimo Town offers a secondary education which does not

follow the PNG Syllabus.

Table 00 above shows that secondary education is accessible to all the districts of the province with two high schools available in all the four districts conducting lower secondary classes and catering for the geographical remoteness of the province. On the other hand there are two secondary schools conducting upper secondary classes. These two schools are located on the coast – one at Aitape (St. Ignatius Secondary School) and one in Vanimo (Don Bosco Secondary School). A disparity may be seen in this, however the practicality of the logistics of recruiting qualified teachers, transporting students and freighting food and materials to inland areas of the province has proven to be very difficult and costly exercise.

Table 16 below shows the recent enrolment trends The average annual enrolment of 2509 between 2003 and 2006 comprises 62% male and 38% female.

Table 16 Student enrolments by year and gender, 2003 to 2006

School 2003 2004 2005 2006

M F M F M F M F

St. Ignatius Sec. 246 195 256 198 262 218 278 233

Aitape High 240 191 206 188 167 151 193 154

Lumi High 189 129 138 85 186 121 149 82

Nuku High 210 114 151 78 153 72 117 54

Telefomin High 311 146 209 107 204 89 260 115

Oksapmin High 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Vanimo High 160 199 138 166 114 185 127 189

Don Bosco Sec. 251 0 219 0 279 0 297 0

Green River High 157 96 120 77 128 73 144 72

Gender Total 1764 1070 1473 899 1493 909 1565 899

Annual Total 2834 2336 2402 2464

One main concern regarding access to secondary education in the province relates to lack of opportunities for female students to complete Grades 11 and 12. As shown in Table 16 above, only one of the two secondary schools enrols female students. While St. Ignatius Secondary School has moved steadily towards achieving a


gender balance in student enrolment, the fact remains that because there is no other secondary school in the province which enrols girls, female students in the province are disadvantaged.

In recent years this problem has been reduced by the fact that Passam National High School in East Sepik Province has accepted significant number of girls from Sandaun Province into Grade 11 (23 students in 2006 and 23 in 2007). This is not considered to be entirely satisfactory because of the travel involved and because of the instability reputation of Passam National High School. The current questions on the continuation of Passam as a National High School pose a big problem for the Grade 11 girls from Sandaun Province.

Table 17 Transition from Grade 10 to Grade 11 in Sandaun Province 2004-2006

Year No. Gr 10 stds No. stds selected For Grade 11

No. stds for SISS

No. stds for DBSS

No.stds for Passam

Transit- ion Rate*

2004 658 211 121 73 17 32%

2005 677 247 122 102 23 36%

2006 754 267 132 112 23 35%

*Transition Rate represents the percentage of Grade 10 students who are accepted for Grade 11 studies.

The figures in Table 17 show that the transition rate for Grade 10 students to Grade 11 in Sandaun Province over the three year period 2004 -2006 has been about 35%. This is considerably higher than the rate recommended in the NEP which is 25%. This means that although Sandaun Province has only two secondary schools, the percentage of students proceeding from Grade 10 to Grade 11 is above the nationally-recommended rate.

This healthy transition rate from grade 10 to grade 11 may change dramatically in the next few years however as the affects of the increased number of children passing on to high schools from grade 8 at primary schools are reflected in significantly increased number of grade 10. This would cause the transition rate to drop below 25% and necessitate adding extra grade 11 classes at existing secondary schools or expending another high school to take grade 11 and 12.

At the moment however the concern in the Province is not then a shortage of Grade 11 places but rather an equal opportunity for females and males at Grade 11 level Curriculum The secondary school curriculum has not changed much since the 1980s, however the National Educational Plan indicates that the secondary curriculum has been reviewed and a lower secondary curriculum will be implemented in 2008. The Plan also mentions that a number of schools in PNG have initiated school-based curriculum in lower and upper secondary grades.

• Secondary and high schools in the province follow the national secondary curriculum with the conduct of classes in the following subject areas:

▪ Lower Secondary (High Schools) – offer the core subjects of English, Mathematics Science and Social Science, and non-core subjects of Home Economics, Agriculture, Commerce, Practical Skills, Expressive Arts Physical Education and Christian Religious Education; and

▪ Upper Secondary (Secondary Schools) – offer the core subjects of Language/ Literature (English), Mathematics A, Mathematics B, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, History, Geography and Economics and non-core subjects of Business Studies, Rural Technology and Information Technology (Computer Studies). Don Bosco Secondary School in Vanimo offers other electives in technical trades while Saint Ignatius Secondary School in Aitape offers Japanese Language as a subject and intends to offer a course in Bahasa Indonesia..

The academic performance of secondary and high schools in the province over the years based on the national curriculum has produced mixed results of two extremes of outstanding and very low performance. Green River High School (over the past 10 years) and St. Ignatius Secondary (for more than 20 years) have been two of most academically high rating schools in the secondary sector in PNG. At the other extreme of low performance has been the often unsatisfactory performance at Grade 10 level in remote high schools. The main reason for this is the problem in attracting properly qualified teachers to more remote schools in Nuku, Lumi and Telefomin areas.


The thoughts for the development and implementation of school-based curriculum has been discussed at different Board of Governors meetings of schools, however tangible actions have yet to be taken. The thoughts on such curriculum focused on the need to prepare for students (particularly, in remote schools) in returning back to their communities with basic knowledge and skills in agriculture, fisheries, trade skills, home economics and expressive arts for meaningful community living.


Teacher shortage continued to be a problem in all education sectors throughout the province and secondary sector is no exception. The often low performance at Grade 10 level in remote high schools has been due to a significant extent to the problem of failure to attract properly qualified teachers to more remote schools. These schools are difficult to reach whilst supply of essential services is erratic. Unless they are from the local area, teachers are reluctant to accept appointment to remote schools. This has resulted in schools often being short of teachers or having no specialist teachers in certain key subject areas.

The number of teachers recruited and placed in schools between 2003 and 2007 is shown in Table 18 below. As can be seen from the table below, teaching staff strength has not been steady in most schools due the reasons mentioned above.

Table 18 Number of Teachers by School and Year

School 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Aitape High 18 20 20 19 19

Lumi High 13 15 18 15 15

Telefomin High 13 14 20 16 15

Vanimo High 13 15 15 15 16

Green River High 11 10 13 11 9

St. Ignatius Secondary 25 29 29 29 28

Nuku High 9 10 12 9 9

Don Bosco Secondary 22 16 22 19 22

Oksapmin High 0 0 0 0 5

Total 124 129 149 133 136

One particular issue of concern is the deficiency in a key subject area (English) in secondary school due to lack of specialist English teachers. This problem was addressed for a number of years by the recruitment of expatriate first language English teachers. Since the recruitment of such teachers was banned, the problem has been worsened. As English is the language of instruction in high schools and secondary schools, the lack of specialist English teachers has the ability to seriously affect the overall academic performance of students in the province in the immediate future.

There is also great shortage of qualified teachers in other specific disciplines at secondary school level and this will become an increasing problem in the near future. Teachers capable of teaching mathematics, biology, physics and economics are very difficult to find, especially those who can help students achieve the standards of entry for the more demanding faculties of UPNG and the University of Technology.

Another important area of teacher training is specific training of selected personnel in educational leadership. There is at present a very serious void in the Province in regard to potential Headteachers and Principals for our high schools and secondary schools. Areas such as financial management and effective personnel management are not well understood even by some of the incumbents of these positions. Identification of officers with leadership potential and training of such personnel is essential for the effective functioning of our secondary institutions in the future. Divine Word University offers a Masters Degree course in this area and some teachers in the province have applied for this training, however the cost is beyond the means of many teachers.



Appropriate and adequate teaching aids, equipment, materials and supplies are hard to come by in most high schools and secondary schools in the province due to high freight costs and inconvenience of transportation. Many teachers struggle and make do with what is available to conduct classes.

The difficult geography and very poor road infrastructure of the province have prompted all high schools and secondary schools to be boarding schools. Few schools allow day students from the communities except within very close proximity to the school.

The general conditions of the physical assets, infrastructure and facilities (teachers’ houses,

classrooms, student dormitories, water and sanitation systems) are in disrepair in some schools

and in a quite unsatisfactory condition in a few schools. The Church Agency schools in the

secondary sector (Green River High School, Don Bosco Secondary School and Saint Ignatius

Secondary School) appear to be better maintained than Government Agency schools. Management

Some high schools throughout the province will continue to run Grades 7 and 8 for some time yet due to biannual and triennial enrolment of small community schools which will not be able to shift to primary schools.

Efficient management within the secondary sector has declined in recent years in the province. This applies equally at all the senior levels in the schools – Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher, Senior Subject Master or Head of Department levels. There is no longer specific training for management positions and officers often proceed to senior positions with little or no training for such roles unless there has been an internal program of training within the school. A serious area of deficiency is financial management whereby proper use and acquittal of funds is a serious concern in some schools.

• The absence of a professional studies course at the University of Goroka means that graduate teachers are unaware of their professional responsibilities as teachers. There are also indications that, because of this, teachers are also deficient in many cases in their student management skills. This has increasingly manifested itself in a lack of discipline among teachers and a relaxed attitude towards the discipline of students.

Summary of Issues Based on the present situation discussed above for secondary education in the province a number of pressing issues were identified and are summarised below:

▪ some high schools in the Province will continue to run Grades 7 and 8 for some time yet due to biannual and triennial enrolment of small community schools which will not be able to convert to primary schools;

▪ there is a need for creating more places for female students in Grade 11 in the Province;

▪ transition rate from Grade 10 to 11 has been about 35% but this will fall as the number of Grade 10 students continues to increase;

▪ there will be a need to establish a second academic secondary school (with careful scrutiny of factors such as location, finance etc.) with an emphasis on providing greater access for girls when the transition rate from 10 to 11 drops below 25%;

▪ geographic difficulties and remoteness are major hindrances to the proper functioning of high/secondary schools;

▪ lack of support infrastructure and facilities (transport, telecommunication and regular food supplies) are major hindrances to the proper functioning of high/secondary schools;

▪ limited economic activities throughout the province contributes to inability of parents to pay school fees and make financial contribution to the development of the schools;

▪ inadequate training of teachers results in standards of teaching which are below required levels and produce students who are not properly prepared for entering college and university education;

▪ there is a shortage of appropriately qualified teachers, resulting in teachers being expected to teach subjects for which they are not trained;


▪ teachers of specialist subjects such as English, Mathematics and Science must be recruited for the time being from overseas to fill the voids in these areas in secondary schools;

▪ the current teacher training at University of Goroka is not adequately preparing teachers for the teaching of Grades 11 and 12 at secondary school;

▪ schools, districts, LLGs need to budget for supply, or replacement, of curriculum materials in high schools and secondary schools;;

▪ there is a lack of qualified headteachers/principals to run schools in the secondary sector in the Province because of the absence of succession training and of specific grounding in personnel management and financial management;

▪ many graduates from University of Goroka lack awareness of their professional responsibilities as teachers because of the absence of appropriate courses in this field at the University.

FLEXIBLE, OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATION

Definition

Flexible, Open and Distant Education (FODE) provides an opportunity for those who are not able to attain recognised educational qualifications (high school and secondary school level) through the formal education system to attain these qualifications. The current focus is for the children wishing to complete their Grades 7 to 10 educational qualifications through the College of Distance Education (CODE). A number of Grades 11 and 12 students are also been given the opportunity to attain their upper secondary qualifications through this system.

Access

The National Education Plan states that since 1995 there has been an increase in the number of school leavers and this has been coupled with a lack of access to secondary and higher education. The numbers of those in Sandaun Province who fall into this category are difficult to establish, but it is certain that there is a significant number of children in the province who have dropped out of, or have been dropped by, the formal system but have the desire to proceed further with their education.

The move by the province to make this educational opportunity accessible saw the start up of the CODE centre in Vanimo in 1983. The interest grew and currently there are three established centres providing access for this sector. The three centres encompass a Provincial Flexible and Open Distance Education (FODE) Centre in Vanimo, a University Centre located at the campus of Don Bosco Secondary School in Vanimo and affiliated to University of Papua New Guinea and the NALU Centre for Advanced Education located at the Aitape Catholic Church establishment in Aitape and affiliated to PNG University of Technology.

There are also FODE Study Centres situated at the NALU Centre and at Aiyipi (Malol) in the Aitape West LLG. Both of these Study Centres are supported by the Catholic Diocese of Aitape. Previously there were many registered Study Centres spread throughout the Province but these have folded because of lack of financial support and personnel who are prepared to volunteer their services to administer the Centres.

The enrolment figures in Table 19 shows that, allowing for temporary declines in enrolments when there have been increases in the amounts which students have to pay for FODE, there is a consistently increasing number of students who have availed themselves of FODE over the period 2000 – 2006

Table 19 FODE-West Sepik Province- New Students Enrolment 2000-2006

Year Males Females Total Student Payment –per subject

Nat.Govt. Subsidy (1st & 3rd Qtrs)

2006 257 117 374 K70 K10

2005 211 75 286 K70 K10

2004 139 61 200 K70 K10

2003 171 122 293 K50 K20

2002 321 188 509 Free Educ Policy K70

2001 210 168 388 K30 K40

2000 182 144 326 K20 K40


* It should be noted that over the period 2000 – 2006, FODE has not received any per capita Subsidy (2nd & 4th Quarters) from the Provincial component of the annual School Fees Subsidy .

• A recent survey by the FODE Office in Vanimo to determine the demand and need for distance education and learning in the province revealed interesting results which are summarised as follows:

▪ 358 people have heard of FODE in the province.

▪ The following number of people expressed support for FODE: as good and helpful, 129; will assist upgrade knowledge to higher level, 38; assist with continue education whilst at home, 292; is for school leavers only, 287; is affordable education, 90; good for study at own phase and time, 90; and must be made accessible to remote areas, 22.

▪ The following number of people responded with respect to their expectation of CODE: will help to get a job, 12; assist with further education, 32 and help with attaining a school certificate, 14.

▪ 286 people responded in support of CODE as a means to assist in completing Grades 11 and 12.

▪ 30 people responded with satisfaction of the current services provided.

▪ Following number of people expressed that CODE should also provide the following training: Science, 15; Grades 11 and 12, 15; vocational & technical Courses, 18; computer training, 22; business and management, 78; teacher training, 12 and others, 3.

The above survey results should be taken into account in the planning for FODE under this Provincial Education Plan. There is a clear willingness among potential students to pay for education through FODE. It is felt by those associated with provision of this means of education that if necessary infrastructure is put in place (building(s), administration etc) the system is probably self-sustaining because the payments by students will cover costs. The role of Government would appear to be giving acknowledgement to FODE as a necessary and desirable part of the education system in the Province and making an initial outlay to set up an infrastructure for the system throughout the Province. Once that is achieved, the system should be sustained by students’ payments. Any contribution which may be made by the Provincial Government to FODE must remain in the Province and not be directed to the central FODE fund. The Provincial Government’s role in promoting and developing FODE in the Province lies in the establishing facilities at the Provincial level. A very disturbing feature which has emerged since the advent of the Reform Curriculum is that many post-Grade 8 applicants for FODE fail the Pre-Entry Test for FODE. This is a trend which must be addressed if FODE is to be able to provide opportunities for future study for those children who have dropped out of the formal education system. At another level, a proposal has been submitted by Sandaun Provincial Administration to the National Planning Office seeking Public Investment Program funding for the establishment of a “Sandaun Centre for Learning” at the provincial capital, Vanimo. The aim of the project is to establish a centre for educational and cultural development and exchange between all districts of the Province and the Papua Province of Indonesia. It is also aimed at providing a centre for the students of the four districts of the province to enroll at the centre to further their education, either at matriculation level or technical level. The proposal for the Centre encompasses a Cultural Centre for PNG-Republic of Indonesia relations, a FODE Centre and a University Centre. A public library facility will be provided at the Centre to provide education, learning and recreation for the people of the Province, as well as a resource centre for research. Conference and residential facilities are included in the proposal both to allow for residential sessions for Distance Learning programmes and also to take advantage an increasing appeal of Vanimo as a venue for various conferences.


Curriculum

The National Education Plan has stipulated the following with respect to curriculum: it is limited to general education in Grades 7 to 10; courses may be started and completed at any time of the year; it takes a maximum of 9 months to complete a course, or up to 3 years to complete a grade and with the absence of a policy on articulation means distance education system have limited opportunities for students to move into the conventional stream.

Current mode of instruction for FODE is through print material only. All materials are printed by the Department of Education and sent to provinces. There are problems with the quantity and timely receipt of materials due to inefficient transport system in the province and lack of funding for the purchase of materials.

The curriculum materials which have been prepared by FODE are of a high standard in terms of content. There is some concern expressed that they may be too academic and that there is a need for some practical components to make them relevant to students who are studying in the village. A hope expressed by many is that eventually courses which are relevant – such as computing, typing etc - could be made available by this mode.

There are no thoughts from the province at the moment about relevant curriculum for FODE for the province despite interesting responses from the survey expressing the need for other relevant courses to be conducted through the FODE apart from the general education in Grades 7 to 10.

Staffing

The FODE Coordinator based in Vanimo is the only person in FODE occupying a TSC-funded position.

The FODE Governing Council pays clerical staff attached to the FODE Centre in Vanimo as well as being responsible for power and telephone costs. The FODE Governing Council has indicated however its intention to transfer responsibility for ancillary staff, power and telephone to the provinces

Instructors at the three FODE Study Centres in the province are volunteers with College or University qualification with or without a teaching background. These instructors provide guidance for students through the printed materials while the student does most of the work with the study and assignments. Any payment for instructors presently comes from Church Agencies or from donor agencies.

In any expanded FODE system within the Province, payment of instructors would have to be met by the Provincial Government or be covered by the tuition payments made by students.

Marking of completed material is a very significant and demanding task associated with this mode of education. It is necessary to have markers on hand at a particular location if the return of completed materials to students is to be handled promptly. There is need for readily available funding for immediate engagement of markers. The NALU Centre in Aitape has secured annual funding (starting in 2007 Budget) through an agreement with the Aitape Catholic Church to provide wages for all personnel of the centre including markers. At the same time, the Catholic Church is assisting the centre with the recruitment of a Australian Volunteer to train a local counterpart as the Director of the centre.

Although FODE is a community initiative, the Provincial Administration should have an interest in the quality of instructors to ensure quality of this service is provided. The need for instructors is further expressed by the Provincial FODE Coordinator citing on the lack of proper supervision of tests and exams.


Materials and Infrastructure

There is no annual budget allocation from the province to cater for purchase and delivery of study materials to the three centres. There are delays in materials reaching the centres due to lack of funding and transport inconvenience. The centres operate on donations from their own sources to provide this service.

The buildings and associated facilities at the present centres are generally in a satisfactory condition. The facilities at the NALU Centre in Aitape and at Don Bosco Secondary School are in good condition while the facilities in the FODE Centre in Vanimo are adequate but require improvement. There is a continuing need for maintenance and improvement of facilities at the three main centres, hence the Provincial Education Plan should consider annual budget allocation or seeking donor assistance for the improvement to the facilities in the three centres.

The external infrastructure support such as transport and telecommunication plays an important role in the provision of this education service. The generally poor conditions of the support infrastructure in the province pose a major hindrance to the progress in the provision of education services particularly in this sector

Management

A coordinated management of the provision of this education service through the provincial education administration is a must to minimize irrational rapid expansion and ensure proper planning for a long term sustainable option. There are already private centres established in the province (one known in Aitape) claiming to provide CODE and matriculation studies and charging exorbitant fees for the service. In cases like this, the Provincial FODE authorities should immediately investigate and either authorise for its continuation or to ensure its closure, hence exercising control in the growth of these informal institutions.

Summary of Issues Based on the analysis above, following is a summary of issues which can be taken into account in the plan for FODE for the province:

▪ there is need for CODE/FODE in the Province to provide an opportunity for students to complete their basic secondary education and also provide other educational and training opportunities in the informal sector;

▪ the Provincial Government should demonstrate its support for the concept of FODE by funding infrastructure for FODE centres at district level;

▪ any Provincial Government support for FODE should be directed within the Province and not forwarded to the National FODE office;

▪ the Provincial Government should demonstrate its support for FODE as an important part of the Provincial education system by directing that Provincial subsidies (second and fourth quarters) should be paid to FODE centres on a per capita basis;

▪ formal assistance should be given to the study centres through the annual Provincial Budget allocations to cater for the recurrent costs;

▪ the need to fund competent markers for the study centres is an important issue that must be address.

▪ the Provincial FODE with assistance from the Provincial Division of Education should be empowered to screen and approve any establishment of FODE related institutions in the province;

▪ consideration be given to the running of other relevant courses at the three centres in line with the local need in addition to the CODE courses for Grades 7 to 10

▪ the Provincial Government should continue to pursue donor funding for the Sandaun Centre for Learning in Vanimo


TECHNICAL VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING Definition The Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) embraces: Vocational Education – which aims to provide alternate, skills-oriented education and training for students leaving the formal education system with Grade 8 (and sometimes Grade 10 )school certificates; and Technical Education – which aims to provide skills training in technical areas for students leaving the formal education system with Grades 10 and 12 school certificates and to provide further opportunities for those already in the work force? Since technical education is primarily a national function, the analysis of the existing situation in the province will concentrate on the status of vocational education whilst raising issues on the linkages to technical education. Access The National Education Reform has resulted in a growing number of students leaving the formal education system after Grades 8 and 10. This trend is clearly seen in Sandaun Province and the consequences, both short-term and long-term a becoming a cause for concern. The Province, like all other provinces, has the task of seeking alternative education pathways, strategies or arrangements to cater for the increasing number of students dropping out of the formal school system after Grades 8 and 10 and recently Grade 12. The Province nominally has 16 vocational centers and one Technical Secondary School as shown in Table 00 below. Of the 16 vocational centres, five have been closed for a long period of time (Puang, Baro, Nukuanglo, Oksapmin and Wasengla), two are presently closed (Seim and Yanungen) and nine (9) are operational to varying degrees. Don Bosco Secondary School is fully operational and running technical trade courses. (It should be noted however that students at Don Bosco Secondary School study a full academic Grade 10 and Grade 12 curriculum in addition to receiving technical training in specific fields). Of the nine currently operating vocational centers, the Pes Vocational Center in Aitape and Wassisi Vocational Center in Nuku are running courses specifically for girls.

Table 20 Status of Technical & Vocational Training Schools in the province by 2005

Schools District Agency Status Enrolment

Male Female Total

Aitape Voc. Aitape/Lumi Govt. Operating 95 17 112

Amanab Voc. Vanimo/Green Govt. Operating 29 - 29

Anguganak Voc. Nuku Ev.All. Operating 79 - 79

Arop Voc. Aitape/Lumi Govt. Operating 28 3 31

Baro Voc. Vanimo/Green Catholic Closed - - -

Lumi Voc. Aitape/Lumi Govt. Operating 30 3 33

Nukuanglo Voc. Nuku Govt. Closed - - -

Oksapmin Voc. Telefomin Govt. Closed - - -

Pes Voc. Aitape/Lumi Catholic Operating - 17 17

Puang Voc. Nuku Catholic Closed - - -

Seim Voc. Nuku Catholic Closed - - -

Telefomin Voc. Telefomin Govt. Operating 17 - 17

Wasengla Voc Vanimo/Green Catholic Closed - - -

Yanungen Voc. Nuku Catholic Closed - - -

Yimbrasi Voc. Nuku Ev.All. Operating 36 - 36

Wassisi Voc. Nuku Catholic Operating - 15 15

Total Enrolment 314 75 389

Don Bosco Sec. Vanimo/Green Catholic Operating 223 - -

Total Enrolment 223 - 223

In response to the proposal from the National Department of Education to rationalise the number of vocational centres in the Province, with a view to eliminating duplication of administrative functions and also of developing better-resourced centres with better teaching and living facilities and capable of offering a wider range of


courses and types of courses, the Provincial Education Board (PEB) deliberated on the centres which would become the preferred centres for vocational training in the Province.

PEB Resolution 28/2006 passed at the First Meeting of the PEB for 2006 (1/2006) held 22-23 March, 2006 decided that the major centres would be located at: Telefomin (Telefomin District) Amanab (Vanimo-Green District) Aitape (Aitape-Lumi District) Anguganak (Nuku Distrct) Warapalpal (Nuku District). The sixteen (16) vocational centres will be reduced to 5 to maximise resources and increase productivity. Enrollment trents at vocational centers in the province have been disappointing in resent years ther was an increase in enrolment in 2005 as a result of awareness carries out in 2004 about vocational traing in the province . Overall there is concern about the continuous decline in enrolments over the years. For example, the total enrolment in 2005 is 612( see table 20 above) and this represents 0.3% of the total provincial population. This means that there are many students who have left school and are not entering vocational training. The dropout rate from the formal system at grade 8 is 50% and at grade 10 75% this indicates that there are many students pushed out from the formal education system each year, but few are availing themselves of vocational training. The main reason for the decline in enrolment has been the fact that training courses offered by the vocational centers, and the facilities of most vocational centers are not attractive to students. Where courses offered at vocational centers are not appropriate to the area where the center is located, graduates of the centers convey a message to intending vocational students regarding the lack of opportunities for use of their acquired skills after graduation-either for personal benefit or in obtaining paid employment hence potential students feel that they may be wasting their time and money obtaining a training that will be of little befit to them in their future lives.

Curriculum Many of the courses presently offered by existing vocational centres are of limited relevance in the location where they are offered. The lack of development in the Province and the lack of any extensive industries mean that graduates of vocational centres with most trade-related skills have few opportunities for paid employment in the Province. Proposed courses to be offered in the vocational institutions in the Province will be based on a common curriculum available to all vocational schools nationwide whilst considerations will be given to courses based on local demand in line with the Competency Based and Training (CBT) proposed by the National TVET Policy and Plan. The CBT courses were identified at the Vocational Reform System Wide workshop conducted in April 2005. Four programs will be conducted in the institutions including: (i) a post grade 8 one year; (ii) a post grade 8 two years; (iii) a post grade 10 one year and (iv) short courses. The province through the PNG Government established in 2003 an understanding and agreement for exchanged vocational education and training between Papua New Guinea and the Republic of Indonesia. The aim of this program was to enable students from Sandaun Province to learn Bahasa Indonesia and then study at Indonesian Vocational Institutions. Unfortunately this program was badly mismanaged by the then Provincial Division of Education authorities who allowed students to be selected for the vocational training program in Jayapura who were not vocational centre students and who had little or no vocational training experience. The poor performances of these students led the Indonesian authorities to decide to abandon this program. An initiative by the Provincial Division of Education in 2005 attempted to rescue the program from planned oblivion by suggesting that qualified teachers from vocational centres and high/secondary schools in West Sepik Province be sent to Indonesia to study to become teachers of Bahasa Indonesia, and then use that skill on their return to PNG to produce students who could potentially cope with studies which may be offered in Indonesia. This program was funded by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia. The first graduates of this program (two vocational teachers and one secondary teacher) completed their training in 2007 and returned to PNG. If the teaching of Bahasa Indonesia can be successfully introduced into Vocational Centres (and secondary


schools) this will establish a platform for re-establishing the program of exchange of students especially in the vocational sector between West Sepik Province and the Republic of Indonesia.

Teacher Training and Placement Staff numbers (see Table 00 below) in the vocational centres are high but enrolments are very low with a very low teacher student ratio of 1 to 11. Most staff are on payroll and many of them are not teaching. Many of the staff do not have teaching qualifications.

Table 21 Number of Staff per Vocational Training Schools at May, 2005

School Staffing Per Vocational School

Male Female Graduates Registered Total

Aitape Voc. 13 3 - 8 16

Amanab Voc. 4 - - - 4

Anguganak Voc. 2 - - - 2

Arop Voc. 4 1 - 2 5

Lumi Voc. 5 1 - 2 6

Pes Voc. - 2 - - 2

Seim Voc. - - - - -

Telefomin Voc. 2 2 - 1 4

Yanungen Voc. - - - - -

Yimbrasi Voc. 6 - - - 6

Wassisi Voc. - 1 - - 1

Don Bosco Sec. 7 - 4 4 7

Total 43 10 4 17 53

Appropriate education and training programs will be made available to upgrade teacher qualification. Managers and senior teachers will be identified and trained to properly manage and administer their vocational institutions. A training plan will be developed to upgrade their technical skills and teaching methodology. The changes in the curriculum will require an improvement in the inspections and monitoring system. The system will be reviewed to improve standards and accountability in all vocational schools. Further more, Inspectors are to be properly resourced to execute their duties effectively

Training Materials/Equipment and Support Infrastructure Shortage of training tools, equipment and materials in all vocational centres continue to be a real problem. One of the main reasons for very low enrolment in vocational school is the lack of, or very poor condition of, training materials and equipment. Unlike, ordinary high schools or secondary schools, appropriate and adequate training materials, equipment and tools are essential for proper vocational training. Very poor conditions of student and staff accommodation, teaching classrooms, water and sanitation and other associated facilities are common sights in all vocational schools. This has contributed very much to the low interest in vocational training. Poor external support infrastructure such as transport and communications and other essential infrastructure in the province have been and will continue to be major constraints to the provision of education services in the province and vocational training is no exception. A particular infrastructure support very much needed for vocational training is electricity supply to run machinery and power tools and equipment for training. Many remote vocational institutions cannot operate effectively due to no power availability in the remote areas.

Management Boards of Managements are responsible and accountable in all centres for finance and assets. Proper stock inventory and accounting procedures have not been adhered to. Existing centres generally display poor management and lack of accountability.


Staff management and supervision at the centre levels remain poor. Staff relationships have yet to improve despite numerous directives. In essence, all centres lack direction, guidance and site leaders with personnel management skills. A proper stock inventory of all institutional assets must be put into place. Board of Management (BOM) functions and responsibilities need to be reviewed to guide and strengthened centres to operate effectively. Job descriptions of managers and teachers must be reviewed to set clear guidelines to staff on their

roles and responsibilities. Teachers will be empowered through the introduction of a manual to be

innovative and practical in their teaching approach.

Summary of Issues Based on the analysis above, following is a summary of issues which can be taken into account in the plan for Technical Vocational Education and Training for the province:

▪ there is a great need for an extensive and appropriate system of Vocational Education in the Province because of the significant number of students leaving the formal education system at Grades 8, 10 and even Grade 12

▪ there is presently very low enrolment in existing vocational schools;

▪ PEB Resolution 28/2006 has nominated five locations for central vocational centres in any proposed rationalisation of vocational education in the Province;

▪ Many irrelevant and inappropriate courses presently offered in existing vocational schools;

▪ the defunct student exchange program for vocational students between West Sepik Province and the Republic of Indonesia should be re-visited once the study of Bahasa Indonesia has been successfully launched in vocational centres (and secondary schools) in 2008;

▪ most vocational centres are overstaffed and some instructors do not have teaching qualifications;

▪ most centres lack training equipment, tools and other essential facilities or these are in very poor condition;

▪ the lack of essential infrastructure in the Province hinders the development of vocational education;

▪ services such as electricity are required if vocational centres are to operate effectively

▪ there is a lack of proper management skills at all levels in most vocational centres

▪ poor standards of asset management have contributed to the present unsatisfactory state of most vocational centres.


Administration Of Education

Definition

Administration of education encompasses all the systems, people and processes that support the delivery of education and training at the provincial, district and school level.

Organizational Structure

Authority

Under the Organic Law on Provincial and Local Level Governments (OLPLLG) and the Sandaun Education Act 2001 (No 2 of 2001), the Sandaun Provincial Government has empowered the Provincial Education Board (PEB) to oversee the functions and operations of education in the Province through the Division of Education of the West Sepik (Sandaun) Provincial Administration.

The Provincial Division of Education

The Provincial Division of Education exists within the structure of the West Sepik (Sandaun) Provincial Administration. In terms of numbers of personnel for whom the Division has responsibility, it is the largest Division within the West Sepik Provincial Administration. Its responsibilities cover areas of development of education policies, planning, budgeting and management of the education system in the Province.

District Education Offices

There are four District Education Offices in the Province, one for each of the four Districts. These are located in Aitape (for Aitape-Lumi District), Nuku (for Nuku District), Telefomin (for Telefomin District), and Vanimo (for Vanimo-Green River District). These Offices are directly involved in the management of the education system in their district. They liaise with the Provincial Division of Education but are responsible to their District Administrator and through him to the Provincial Administrator. They do not come under the authority of the Provincial Division of Education. School Boards

Board of Governors for high schools, secondary schools secondary technical schools, and Board of Managements for elementary, community and primary schools are approved by the PEB every three years. They play a vital role in the formulation and implementation of policies at the school level.

School Boards also have particular responsibility for the care and maintenance of school facilities, equipment and materials;

disciplinary processes, including expulsion; fund raising and expenditure of school funds; and

proposing development plans to the local level government.

Organizational Operations

Overview

The Education Reform process was initiated at the national level in 1993 but was taken up very slowly in West Sepik Province. When elements of the Reform process were introduced, it was in an almost random and haphazard fashion, lacking a strategic basis and deviating in many aspects from the “bottom-up” planning approach recommended for the introduction of the Reform process.

A small number of elementary schools were established in Vanimo in 1996, and the first Primary “Top-Up” schools were established in 1997. In 1997 also, the first Grade 11 intake took place at Saint Ignatius Secondary School in Aitape.


Subsequently however primary schools came into operation without the previous establishment of elementary feeder schools, and a variety of school profiles became part of the primary/community school sector. Some primary schools still retain Grades 1 and 2 and so are Grade 1-8 schools. Attempts have started in the last two years to set up elementary schools in those locations where a primary school already exists – the complete reversal of the “bottom-up” approach. Some community schools have elementary schools feeding into them at Grade 1, but these community schools are never likely to become primary schools. A variety of other configurations also developed. Many of these anomalous school establishments are presently still in operation and the challenge is to redress the deviations from the principles of the education reform process.

Another serious problem which developed because of the absence of a clear strategy in the implementation of the reform process was the inequitable distribution of schools approved for acquiring primary status or establishing elementary institutions in regard to location. Numerous primary schools arose in some districts while other districts were left largely unaware of the reform process. Even within districts there was clearly preference given to some regions whilst other regions of the same district were neglected as far as the reform process was concerned.

In the secondary sector, a second high school, Don Bosco Technical High School, was set up in Vanimo in 1996 by the Catholic Agency in close proximity to the existing government-agency Vanimo High School. The rationale for the approval of this male-only institution seems to have been that it would become a technical college for the Province, which would be a very significant asset for the Province. It soon emerged however that the institution intended to follow a strongly-academic curriculum in conjunction with its technical courses and this had profound implications for the enrolments at Vanimo High School. Don Bosco High School soon afterwards started enrolling Grade 11 students which was also not provided for in any plan. Subsequently Don Bosco Secondary School has become a significant element in the provision of upper secondary education in the Province but this is largely due to the efforts of the School administration rather than any directives from Education Administration in the Province.

The major reason for this chaotic situation in the administration of education in the Province was the absence of an approved Provincial Education Plan. The National Department of Education developed and published the National Education Plan 1995-2004 which required all provinces to develop provincial education plans. The National Education Plan 2005-2014 states that “All provincial education plans were written by 2000” (NEP 2005-2014 p.38) but although a draft plan was drawn up in West Sepik Province, it was never presented to the PEB and never obtained formal endorsement by the Provincial Executive Council (PEC). This left the way clear for ad hoc decisions on occasions to affect the implementation of the reform process.

Another factor in producing this disorganization at the administrative level was the frequent change in leadership of the Provincial Division of Education. This is not to suggest that there were not compelling reasons for the changes that were made, but the instability generated by frequent changes in the position of Adviser undoubtedly had an adverse effect on the orderly implementation of the reform process.

A further factor referred to in the National Education Plan 2005 – 2014 (p.38) is particularly relevant in the West Sepik situation: “The lack of planning expertise and commitment from provincial governments that is evidenced by the unplanned implementation of plans”. Within the Provincial Division of Education there were serious deficiencies in the ability both to collect and to interpret data on schools and personnel as the basis for planning. There was also a willingness in reports to obfuscate the real situation which prevailed in various sectors in regard to the implementation of the reform process and this perhaps led the Provincial Government and the Provincial Administration into a sense of false security that the reform process was proceeding successfully.

There was little or no serious and coordinated awareness carried out within the Province on the details of the education reform and the implications for communities, schools and teachers. As a result there was a reluctance by more remote locations to embrace the reform process and steps were not taken to address the inequitable situation which increasingly developed.

A final contributing factor to the unsatisfactory situation of education administration in the Province was the dichotomy which was drawn between Provincial Administration officers located in the Provincial Education Office and National Department officers. The National Department officers, the Inspectors in Secondary, Primary and Vocational sectors and the Teacher Training Coordinator in the Elementary sector seem to have been regarded as less than full members of the Provincial Education Office team, and it is significant that the Senior Elementary Inspector was forced to find accommodation in Aitape while a Nationally-funded house for


the Elementary sector was occupied by a Provincial officer who had no claim whatsoever to the accommodation. The Inspectors of the various sectors were often not afforded the respect that was due to them in regard to assistance with transport and clerical assistance but most importantly their expertise was rarely sought in regard to administrative matters although they, in the majority of cases were in the best position to evaluate current situations because of their first-hand observations in the field.

Human Resources Management

The current staff ceiling for the Provincial Division of Education is eleven (11). Grade 15: Provincial Education Director

Grade 13: Reform Coordinator

Senior Technical Officer

Grade 11 Appointment Officer

Grade 10 Provincial Inservice Training Officer

Provincial Materials Supply Officer

Provincial Elementary Coordinator Grade 8 Provincial Administrative Officer

Senior Payroll Clerk (Education)

Grade 6 Payroll Clerk (Education)

Keyboard Officer

The Division is headed by a Provincial Education Director (Grade 15) who reports to the Deputy Provincial Administrator (Policy and Administrative Services).

In the last restructure of the Division aimed at facilitating the implementation of the Reform process, the position of Senior Professional Assistant (Grade 13) was reclassified as a Reform Coordinator. This has meant that financial matters, which can involve in a year in excess of K3million are, by default, coordinated by the Provincial Administrative Officer (Grade 8). This is a very serious and unacceptable situation. The position of Reform Coordinator is now no longer relevant with the Reform having being introduced fifteen years ago now. Indeed the role of Reform Coordinator appears to have had little impact in facilitating smooth and orderly “bottom-up” implementation of the Education Reform in the Province

The Senior Payroll Clerk (Education) has not functioned within the Provincial Division of Education for more than two years. In his absence, the Payroll Clerk (Grade 6) has been able to ensure that pay cheques and pay slips are forwarded to schools as promptly as transport services will allow, and also to deal with teachers’ queries regarding payroll matters. One officer performing this task at Grade 8 level would appear to be sufficient to ensure that this vital task is handled promptly and efficiently.

With the reclassification of School Inspectors in various sectors as Standards Officers, it is apparent that the tasks of Inspectors will be increasingly involved in improving the qualifications and as a result the performance of teachers. It is logical then that the Inspectors take responsibility for coordinating Inservice Training in the Province. They have the first-hand experience to evaluate which teachers should be sent for training and also what this training should be. This means that the position of Provincial Inservice Training Officer would become redundant. The retention of Training Officers at district level would need to be re-evaluated in the future in view of the presence of Inspectors in all the main districts (or sub-districts) in the Province. A constantly-raised criticism regarding training of teachers over recent years has been the criteria used for selection by the Provincial Inservice Training Officer. Claims of bias and concentration on certain areas, to the exclusion of teachers from more remote locations, would appear to have undeniable cases to verify them. Such practices would be much less likely with the Inspectors making the choices regarding the teachers selected for particular types of training.

Increasingly the distribution of curriculum materials is being handled by donor agencies and no longer involves a Provincial Materials Supply Officer (PMSO). The former role then of the PMSO is very much reduced. It would still be necessary to retain an officer to handle queries from schools for particular curriculum supplies and pass them on to the National Department of Education but this role could be combined with some other responsibility


which is perhaps something which would not occupy an officer at all times during a year (such as responsibility for examinations).

The re-defined roles of Inspectors in various sectors suggest that logically Inspectors should take responsibility for school operations in their sector. This would apply to the Secondary, Primary and Vocational sectors where Inspectors are based in Vanimo.

When Elementary Education was introduced as part of the Reform process, a position was created for a Provincial Elementary Coordinator (PEC). It has been found that much of the work of the Provincial Elementary Teacher Training Coordinator (PETTC) overlaps that of the PEC and most provinces in the PNG now have dispensed with a PEC and left coordination of the Elementary sector to the PETTC. In order to bring the Elementary sector into line with the other education sectors in the Province however, and in order to ensure that the considerable disarray presently apparent in the Elementary sector is addressed promptly and effectively, it is crucial that the Senior Provincial Elementary Inspector (SPEI) is located in Vanimo. This would mean that the Elementary sector would be administered by two experienced and capable officers, the PETTC and the SPEI.

Areas which are deficient in the present structure are as follows:

a. Management of finances viz. School Subsidies (National & Provincial), Divisional Budget allocations, Leave Fares, Least Developed Districts (LDD) Grants, Basic Education Development Project (BEDP) operations and maintenance grants

b.Data collection and compilation – teachers, schools, enrolments, examination results C.Responsibility for dealing with matters concerned with PEB operations (PEB Executive Officer). The Sandaun Education Act 2001 (No 2 of 2001) establishes the position of a PEB Executive Officer. Although various officers have been appointed to fulfil this role on a casual basis from time to time, the requirements of the Sandaun Education Act in calling for the establishment of a formal position for a PEB Executive Officer have never been met. d. Examinations (distribution of papers, marking, compilation of results) The task of handling examinations for various grades is presently farmed out to senior teachers from Vanimo schools.

• There is an urgent need within the Provincial Division of Education to recruit personnel who have specialist skills in

• financial management,

• data collection, processing and analysis,

• education planning,

• outcomes-based curriculum

All of the staff of the Provincial Division of Education would benefit from further training in Information Technology particularly Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access. Few, if any, are familiar with the use of e-mail.

Teacher Absenteeism

Teacher absenteeism is acknowledged as a major problem throughout the country. The effectsof teacher absenteeism hit at the most basic fundamentals of education, student learning and retention. The problem originates, it is claimed, in the difficulty of access to many schools in the Province because of the demanding physical geography and the poor infrastructure of roads and air services in the Province. Supplies of food are often irregular and in many places there is a lack of adequate medical services for families with small children. Teachers also claim that they have to visit the District or Provincial Education office to seek assistance with payroll queries, and headteachers, in particular, spend lengthy periods away from their schools on the pretext of purchasing school supplies or building materials. Some of these reasons for absences from schools are legitimate; many are not. Most absences however are far longer than they need to be. As a result classes are left unattended, and children not taught.


.Teacher absenteeism is not just a feature of remote schools however. Teachers in schools near towns such as Vanimo and Aitape spend long periods of time away from their schools. Teachers from Nuku, particularly, travel to Wewak and stay for long periods, while teachers from Lumi go to Aitape or Wewak and take a long time to return to their schools. Teachers from Telefomin and Oksapmin spend long periods of time in Tabubil leaving classes and schools unattended. The active involvement of headteachers, Boards of Management/Governors, Inspectors and officers of the Provincial and District Education offices is needed to combat this very serious problem. Because of the remoteness of most schools, teachers believe that they can be absent from their school without being detected, and without incurring any penalties or sanctions. This is where the involvement of teachers on the ground, of the BOM and the local community is essential in monitoring the movements of teachers. Written evidence of a teacher’s absence must be supplied to the Provincial Division

of Education so that a Provincial Suspension Authority can be completed and the teacher

suspended from the payroll.

The role of District Education offices in this process is pivotal.

Financial Management

The amounts of money which now come under the responsibility of the Provincial Division of Education are quite substantial.

National Department of Education School Infrastructure Maintenance Grants (SIMG) total more than K1.2 million annually. Provincial Government School Subsidies amount to K750,000 annually. Teachers’ Leave Fare allocations in 2005 were K972,000. Least Developed District Grants (LDD) totaled K600,000 each year in 2005 and 2006. BEDP Travel allowances for facilitators were K128,000 in 2005.

BEDP Maintenance Grants should be in the region of K300,000 annually when all schools are finally visited.

BEDP School Infrastructure Grant for 2006 was K500,000.

Responsibility for amounts of this magnitude requires the expertise of personnel with accountancy skills. Instead the task of managing these monies has in most cases been delegated to personnel with only clerical training.

The strengthening of the financial management arrangements of the Provincial Division of Education is identified as a major priority in regard to the administration of education in the Province.

Projects Management

The Province was been extremely fortunate to have been selected as one of the first five provinces in the country to be chosen for the AusAID-funded Basic Education Development Project (BEDP). This Project has now been established in West Sepik Province since 2004 and it would appear that the Project will be maintained by AusAID for some years to come.

The management of the Project is supposed to be the responsibility of the Provincial Division of Education, but to ensure the financial integrity of the Project was maintained, management during the period 2004 to 2007 was kept separate from the Provincial Division of Education.

This is a Project which is of great value to education in the Province and an effective and transparent management system associated with the PDoE must be introduced.

The Province has also been fortunate to be awarded K600,000 in 2005 and K600,000 in 2006 as Grants for Schools in Least Developed Districts (LDD). These grants of K10,000 for 120 of our most disadvantaged schools have been the most significant injection of funds that most of these schools have ever received


There have however been problems with bank accounts for many of these remote schools, problems with acquittals, and problems with proper delivery of goods and materials. The task of coordinating this project has had to be assumed by an officer, not specifically trained in project management, who has found this demanding project added to his duty statement.

Donor-funded projects require close monitoring and accurate acquittals if it is hoped to retain the projects as something more than a “one-off” assistance. Serious consideration must then be given to the need for a capable and qualified officer to assume responsibility for this important role. Data Coordination

One of the most serious weaknesses in the Provincial Division of Education in recent years has been the inefficient, incomplete and inaccurate compilation of data in regard to teachers, schools, enrolments and examination results. There has been a serious lack of expertise within the Division in regard to the collection, processing and analysis of essential data.

In general District Education Offices have failed to provide the assistance which they are capable of providing in view of their closer location to institutions in their districts. The problem of collection of data has also to some extent been exacerbated by the deterioration of airline services within the Province over the past two years particularly.

Reliable data is of profound importance for the efficient functioning of most aspects of the administration of education in the Province. Teachers’ salary payment, teachers’ leave entitlements, school subsidy payments, the administration of examinations all depend on reliable and current data, while planning matters and project submissions cannot be initiated without access to data which is accurate and comprehensive.

The need to view very seriously the importance of efficient data management in the Division, and to appoint qualified personnel to perform such a function, is an immediate priority of the Division.

Communication

The communication system of the Division of Education is less than satisfactory.

The lack of awareness about the Education Reform process in most areas has been due to

the absence of effective communication by those within the Division who should have been carrying out this important communication process.

The telephone system within the Division was restored in 2005 after payment of an outstanding debt of K8,000. Strict monitoring of the use of telephones by the officers of the Division is essential to enable this important means of communication with the NDoE in particular to be maintained.

Telephone contact with the districts is unreliable or non-existent.

There is no telephone contact with schools and the only possible means of making contact with schools is through the Health radio system in areas where this has been established.

The most effective means of communication in the Province is through NBC, Radio Sandaun. The management of Radio Sandaun willingly allocates time to the Division of Education for the broadcast of education issues, the announcement of teachers’ appointments, high school selections etc. Radio Sandaun however has been frequently off the air for lengthy periods over the past two years because of funding and maintenance problems. The importance of ensuring that Radio Sandaun functions efficiently throughout the whole year cannot be stressed enough.

The delivery of mail to and from the Provincial Capital has become very uncertain and very irregular since the curtailment of air services in 2006 particularly by MAF. Circulars and other information often do not reach schools.

In times of rapid change and reform in education, it is essential that effective communication systems be established and maintained to allow teachers and the general public to be aware of the processes which are

taking place.


Teachers’ Salaries

Financial records show that a sum of K13, 737.40 was paid in 1997 for the transfer of the Education Payroll from Waigani to the Province. This did not eventuate in 1998, although the fate of the funds allocated by the Provincial Division of Education has never been clarified.. Since this time, West Sepik Province has remained a centralized province, meaning that all teachers’ salary payments are made from Waigani. All teachers’ salary records are also held at Waigani so that all queries relating to teachers’ salaries must be referred to the NDoE.

This is an unsatisfactory situation because it means that restoration of teachers to the payroll, suspension of teachers who are not in attendance at their locations, alterations of teachers’ personal details, claims for payment of entitlements and other matters affecting teachers’ salaries are delayed often for very long periods of time.

The transfer of the Education Payroll from Waigani to the Province would speed up the processes connected with payments of teachers’ salaries greatly. There is sufficient space in the new location of the Division of Education for local processing of the payroll to take place.

The delivery of pay cheques and pay slips to teachers is becoming increasingly difficult because of the deterioration of air services in the Province. In the absence of regular air services, officers of the Provincial Division of Education are forced to send payrolls to districts by dinghy, by hand with a third party who is flying or walking. The possible dangers of these measures are enormous.

It is important that an arrangement for regular fortnightly delivery of payrolls by air to the major centres is established.

Summary of Issues Based on the present situation discussed above for the administration of education in the Province a number of pressing issues were identified and are summarised below:

� The present structure of the Provincial Division of Education is outdated and is no longer relevant to the present educational situation;

� Financial management within the Provincial Division of Education lacks the expertise to effectively administer the substantial amounts of money which are handled by the Division ;

� Donor-funded projects presently operating in the Province must be effectively managed if they are to be retained in the future;

� The availability of reliable data in regard to teachers, schools, enrolments and examinations has been a major deficiency of the Provincial Division of Education and this has had profound effects on the administration of education in the Province;

� The system of payment of teachers’ salaries is presently inefficient and contributes to low morale among teachers and a low standard of performance of many teachers;

� Lack of personnel with expertise in planning has contributed to the disorganization which presently exists particularly in the elementary and primary sectors in regard to the implementation of the Education Reform;

� Most officers of the Provincial Division of Education have only a basic knowledge of computer skills and must be familiarized with Excel, Access and e-mail use

� Communication systems, encompassing telephone, radio and mail must be properly managed and maintained so that information passes between Education authorities and teachers or the general public;

� Teacher absenteeism is a very serious problem which must be addressed in an aggressive manner through cooperation between District Education Offices and the Provincial Division of Education.



THE VISIONTHE VISIONTHE VISIONTHE VISION


SECTION 3 - VISION

The Province will adopt the visions for all sectors of education in the Province from the National Education Plan, but with the incorporation of specific additions necessary to meet the particular needs of Sandaun Province.

The Vision for National EducationThe Vision for National EducationThe Vision for National EducationThe Vision for National Education

The vision for National Education is: …..“integral human development achieved through an affordable education system that appreciates Christian and traditional values, and that prepares literate, skilled and healthy citizens by concentrating on the growth and development of each individual’s personal viability and character formation, while ensuring all can contribute to the peace and prosperity of the nation”…

Vision for Elementary Education Vision for Elementary Education Vision for Elementary Education Vision for Elementary Education Where elementary schools have been established, at 6 to 8 years of age, all children including those with special needs begin their basic education in an elementary school in a language that they speak. For the next three years, they develop the basis for sound literacy and numeracy skills, family and community values including discipline, personal health care, and respect for others. All parts of the Province will gradually adopt Elementary Education.

Vision for Primary EducationVision for Primary EducationVision for Primary EducationVision for Primary Education All children will have access to primary education. Where elementary schools have been established, at the age of 9 to 11 years old, children including those with special needs continue their basic education in a primary school. After six years of primary education that begins with a bilingual program, children have skills to live happily and productively, contribute to their traditional communities and use English to understand basic social, scientific, technological, and personal concepts and value learning after Grade 8. In areas where there is no elementary education, children including those with special needs will begin their education in a community school and complete six years of primary education before moving on to a primary school or a high school. All parts of the Province will gradually adopt Primary (Grade 3-8) Education.

Vision for Secondary EducationVision for Secondary EducationVision for Secondary EducationVision for Secondary Education Students including those with special needs in grades 9 to 12 achieve their individual potential to lead productive lives as members of the local, provincial, national and international community and part take of further quality education and training, having undertaken a broad range of subject and work related activities that can be used in everyday life.


Where a primary school has been established, students will access secondary education at Grade 9. Where there is no primary school, students who have completed Grade 6 at community school will commence secondary education at Grade 7 at a high school. Children from remote areas should not be denied the opportunity to undertake secondary education. All parts of the Province will gradually phase out Grades 7 and 8 in high schools

Vision for Vocational EducationVision for Vocational EducationVision for Vocational EducationVision for Vocational Education Vocational Education institutions in all districts offer alternative, skills-based learning for students leaving the formal education system. Appropriate and relevant courses of varying lengths cater for the training needs of Grade 8 and Grade 10 leavers including those with special needs appropriate short courses relevant to community needs also available to various sections of the community in response to community demands

Vision for Flexible, Open and Distance EducationVision for Flexible, Open and Distance EducationVision for Flexible, Open and Distance EducationVision for Flexible, Open and Distance Education The Flexible, Open and Distance Education system provides Sandaun people with alternative opportunities outside the formal education system to gain further appropriate and affordable education up to tertiary level.



THE PLANTHE PLANTHE PLANTHE PLAN


SECTION 4 -THE PLAN

This section outlines the plan for education for Sandaun Province for the next eight years from 2007 to 2014 in line with the National Education Plan. The plan is based on the assessment of the existing situation of education in the province through the analysis of desktop information, district consultation and meetings with national education agency and other line agencies. The format of the plan is based on the need to be consistent with the national education plan. This should enable consistent interpretation of the national and provincial education plans, hence minimize confusion in the use of terminology and facilitate good understanding for effective plan implementation. This section describes the major outcomes, minor outcomes, strategies and activities under the six respective education sectors and further specified under the four components. The activities and projects with details are discussed under the Section 5 – Implementing the Plan and further translated into a separate annual activity/project and budget document at the end of every year (or as and when required in the case of projects) guided by the major outcome, minor outcome and strategies. This is to ensure that there is an on-going attention to the plan, hence making the plan a dynamic guide rather than being dead objects placed on the self to collect dust. These planning terms used in this plan are defined in the matrix below. TERMS USED IN THE

PLAN DEFINITION

EDUCATION SECTORS

Comprise of six levels of education including: Elementary, Primary, Secondary, Flexible Open Distance, Vocational Education & Training and Technical Education & Training

EDUCATION COMPONENTS

Comprise of fours educational interest areas including: Access, Quality Curriculum & Monitoring, Quality Teacher Education & Training and Management

MAJOR OUTCOME The end point to be achieved at the end of the plan life

MINOR OUTCOME A point that has to be achieved on the way to accomplishing the major outcome.

STRATEGY

Planned methods and describes how the minor outcomes are to be achieved.

ACTIVITY Specific recurrent tasks to be undertaken under each strategy to address the minor outcome

PROJECT A one-off intended action identified under each strategy to address the outcomes

The effective implementation of the plan depends largely on clear identification of roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders. In this respect, the roles and responsibilities of the different stakeholders will form the last part of the description of plan for each level of education.


Major Outcome Every 6-year old child in Sandaun Province including those with special needs will have the opportunity to access three years of basic relevant education by 2014.

Access to Basic Relevant Education

Minor Outcome E1: Adequate elementary schools established at community level in all districts of the Province to enable all 6-year-old children have access to elementary education throughout the province . It is estimated that in 2006, out of 18,000 children of elementary school age in the province, about 8,400 (only 47%) were undertaking elementary education This figure does not give a totally accurate picture of the number of children of elementary school age who were actually receiving education because of the many areas in which elementary education has not been introduced and where children are starting their education at Grade One in a community school. The situation is clear however that. many school age children are either not attending school or are attending school but do not stay in school, particularly in the remote schools due to lack of school fees, lack of teachers and lack of teaching materials. It is planned that more awareness will be conducted in remote communities to ensure steady annual enrolments and children are retained in school.

Table 22 Elementary Enrolment by Selected years 2007-2013

2007 2009 2011 2013

Elementary Prep, EP 3088 4453 5818 7184

Elementary Grade 1, E1 2322 2639 3595 4551

Elementary Grade 2, E2 2059 2097 3024 3951

Total 7469 9189 12437 15685

The establishment of elementary schools shall be subject to the level of readiness based on the following criteria: o there shall be a population of appropriate age to support a class size of 30 or more; o multi-grade teaching shall be expected in schools where class sizes drop below this number; o there shall be an approved written orthography of the local vernacular; o a communal agreement over the land to be used must be reached before a school is established o a school should be located adjacent to a village/ settlement so that the walking time for any child to or from

school is no more than 30 minutes; o there shall be total community support for the provision of basic school materials and supplies, and

construction of school buildings and facilities; o there shall be professional support from a community or primary school for which the elementary school will

be a feeder; o there shall be a Board of Management; o there shall be a suitable candidate nominated for elementary teacher-training who is fluent in the local

vernacular; o there shall be a resident elementary trainer/supervisor in the district

Target E1.1 All 6 year-old children will have access to elementary education by 2014



This expansion of the number of the schools shall comprise large schools (class sizes of more than 30) in the coastal areas due to concentrated community population as well as small schools (class sizes of less than 30) in the mountain areas due to dispersed population. Table 23 below shows the number of elementary schools which have been established and number yet to be established by district within the plan period.

Table 23 Number of Existing and Planned Elementary Schools by District

Total Existing

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total

Aitape/Lumi 72 72 78 84 90 96 102 108 114 114

Nuku 71 71 77 83 89 95 101 107 113 113

Vanimo/Green 80 80 86 92 98 104 110 116 122 122

Telefomin 56 56 63 70 77 84 91 98 104 104

Provincial Total 279 279 304 329 354 379 404 429 454 454

Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detailed annual planning and budgeting.

Strategy Conduct awareness at community level regarding elementary education and the role which the community must play

Activities: � Conduct local awareness programmes at Provincial, District and LLG levels to inform communities of

the role of Elementary education in the overall National Education System � Conduct local awareness programmes to explain the responsibilities of communities in regard to

elementary schools � Ensure that communities are aware of the criteria to be met when proposing a new elementary

school Strategy Establish and maintain adequate number of elementary schools in all districts

Activities � Take complete stock of existing and proposed elementary schools by district throughout the province. � Use quotas from NDoE pertaining to opening of new schools and distribute equitably to all the districts

for their implementation; � Seek PEB approval for number of schools to be established every year based on the total approved

schools and level of readiness of communities based on the approved criteria. � Prioritise the approval of new elementary schools so that, where possible, preference is given to

locations where primary schools have already been established. � Follow up registration of schools which have been applied for to ensure that this registration is granted. � Develop Provincial policy guidelines regarding basic infrastructure required for elementary schools to

ensure that buildings and facilities in all schools conform to basic accepted standards � Create awareness in LLGs to budget for infrastructure and maintenance grants annually to support

infrastructure development of elementary schools

Strategy Provide access to elementary education for children from very remote areas, girls, and children with special needs and improve retention of children in elementary schooling

Activities � Develop a Provincial policy to allow access to elementary schooling by children from very remote areas

who may not fulfil certain entry criteria such as age. � Conduct awareness in districts on the importance of schooling with emphasis on the need for girls to be

in school. � Conduct awareness in districts on the desirability of educating children with special needs in order to

promote the principle of educating all children � Adopt a Provincial enrolment policy consistent with the national policy aimed at improving the retention

rate of children in elementary schools

Target E1.2 The Province will approve the opening of 25 elementary schools annually from 2008 to 2014


Relevant and Quality Elementary Curriculum

Minor Outcome E2: A relevant and quality elementary curriculum is developed, implemented and monitored. A National elementary curriculum framework has been adopted as part of the Education Reform process. The focus of the new curriculum is on how children will fit into their community so that they are not removed from their customs and culture. The Community-Based Curriculum which has been developed is intended to provide better learning in the vernacular for children in elementary schools Elementary education should be clearly understood as being a community responsibility; hence communities shall be encouraged in every way possible to take the lead and/or participate in all aspects of elementary education including the development of curriculum. It is therefore planned that every community will be encouraged and assisted to fully participate in the development of locally based curriculum. The language of instruction in elementary schools will be that which the children speak and will be determined by the community. Where there are children who speak a variety of tok pleses, the community can use to use Pidgin or English as the medium of instruction. Completion of orthographies prior to commencement of enrolment will be one of the main criteria for the establishment of elementary schools. New orthographies will have to be developed for new schools. Concern has been expressed by many communities about the delay in the introduction of English in elementary schools. There is a feeling that children are disadvantaged in regard to their eventual literacy in English but also there is a strong body of thought that numeracy skills are not able to be developed because of deficiencies in local languages in regard to the “language of mathematical operations”. For these reasons, introduction of English as a subject should take place in E1 so that the “bridging” to oral and written English in E2 can be more effective.

Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detailed annual planning and budgeting. Strategy Develop relevant local elementary education curriculum in accordance with the National

curriculum framework

Activities

▪ Support the formation and define the role of community curriculum development committees.

▪ Provide appropriate technical support for the development of a community-based curriculum

▪ Provide appropriate technical support for the development, production and use of community-based materials

▪ Implement the curriculum and the use of community-based materials

Target E2.1 At least 25% of communities will have curriculum development committees by 2009

Target E2.2 LLGs will be encouraged to approach SIL to develop two orthographies per year

Target E2.3 The Provincial Division of Education will facilitate the introduction of English as a subject in E1.


▪ Review the development of the curriculum and the production of local materials

Strategy Incorporate English as a subject into the elementary curriculum for E1 and E2

Activities � Provide appropriate technical expertise for the development of English as a subject to be incorporated

into the E1 and E2 curriculum � Use English terminology in teaching the operations used in basic numeracy - (“borrowing words”)

Strategy Prepare all necessary orthographies

Activities � Arrange with the Summer Institute of Linguistics, SIL for the development of two orthographies each

year

Quality Teacher Education and Training

Minor Outcome E3: Sufficient numbers of teachers adequately trained are placed in elementary schools and on-going elementary teacher- training supported and maintained. The training of elementary teachers is provided through the Elementary Teacher-Training programme (2-year equivalent) leading to the Certificate of Elementary Teaching (CET). Teachers are trained in six-week modules and may begin teaching while still completing their CET Training. There have been some initiatives in recent years to institutionalise elementary teacher training at a teachers’ college, as is the case with primary and secondary teachers. This would markedly improve the competence of elementary teachers.

Appropriate and sufficient teacher training and placement is vital to the sustainability of elementary education in the province. Current situation indicates that many elementary teachers are not adequately trained. This is in addition to the most salient fact that there are more proposed elementary schools than there are personnel, with any sort of elementary training at all, to teach in these schools. It is planned that the districts will train and place sufficient, quality elementary teachers in elementary schools as shown in Table 00 below. The selection of teachers shall be the responsibility of the community and the School Board of Management. The existing selection criteria shall be reviewed and utilised. The criteria may include but not limited to the following: o priority be given to female trainees; o selected trainees should have lived in the community for at least three years; o ability to speak the language of instruction selected by the community; o knowledgeable about local customs, values and culture of the community o must have minimum of Grade 10 education; and o must be of good character and of good standing in the community.

It is planned that the serving teachers be given the opportunities to increase their professional knowledge and skills in all facets of teaching. Opportunities will be given to teachers-in-charge for leadership and financial management training. Assistance will also be given to the elementary trainers to enhance their knowledge and skills in teacher training.

Target E 3.1 A teacher pupil ratio of 1:30 will be maintained in all our Elementary schools in Sandaun


Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detail annual planning and budgeting. Strategy Provide the required number of appropriate and adequately-trained teachers in elementary schools

throughout the province

Activities

▪ Establish guidelines for communities to use for the selection of candidates for teacher training

▪ Submit the short-list of candidates for each school together with the community’s choice for teacher-training to the District Elementary Committee (DEC) and then to the PEB for approval.

▪ Ensure the availability of technical and financial support for teacher-training

▪ Undertake training of teacher-trainees

▪ Appoint trainees to the elementary school in the communities which selected them

Strategy Provide opportunities for professional development for all elementary school teachers

Activities: � Develop a professional development training programme for elementary school teachers � Identify relevant courses for elementary school teachers � Provide leadership training for elementary school site leaders and senior teachers

Strategy Ensure that a functioning system of support and monitoring of elementary teachers in the field is carried out as a routine by teacher trainers/inspectors in all districts

Activities: � Direct districts to ensure that teacher trainers/inspectors are located at their appointed postings � Establish an operational policy that teacher trainers/inspectors must monitor and support

teaching in elementary schools by regular visits to all schools Strategy Establish community- based elementary school teaching as a sustainable career Activities

▪ Carry out a study to determine relevant and adequate support and incentives for an elementary school teaching career.

▪ Implement a program designed to establish community-based elementary school teaching as a sustainable career.

Management

Minor Outcome E4: Effective management practices make elementary education cost-effective and affordable both for parents and for the government The management of most elementary schools in the Province is not being conducted well, and to improve this the Division of Education, Boards of Management, relevant church agencies, communities and head teachers must confer to determine particular areas of responsibility for each within the elementary sector. Elementary education is designed to be, as much as possible, a community responsibility. It is planned that over the plan period, extensive awareness will be carried out in the communities by district to drive the sense of ownership of elementary schools. Appropriate assistance will be identified and provided through the school Board of Management and other community organizational structures to prepare the communities to take full responsibility for elementary education. The incapacity in the provincial economy and geographic isolation makes it difficult for parents to meet the cost of children’s education. The National Department of Education has indicated that one of the main sectors targeted for immediate financial support in the form of subsidies will be the elementary sector (rather than the primary and secondary sectors as in previous years).

Target E 4 All elementary schools will have a functional board by 2009


The Provincial Division of Education must work closely with the Provincial finance and planning authorities to ensure that the needs of elementary education in the Province are provided for in the Provincial Budget. Local-level Governments will budget for an establishment grant for new schools These costs will be included in the annual budget estimates and appropriations. The National Department of Education will determine a formula for the deployment of teaching positions. The major criterion for this will be the number of children enrolled. On acceptance of this by provinces, teachers will be allocated to schools accordingly. It is important that this policy which aims at the equitable distribution of teaching resources be accepted by all involved in the elementary sector . The non-payment of elementary teachers for periods up to several years has been one of the least-impressive aspects of the elementary system. This has often been related to a failure to secure proper registration for a particular school, but this fact in no way excuses the fact that teachers have not received just payment for the efforts they have expended. Elementary teachers often find great difficulty in submitting Resumption of Duty Summary Sheets (RoDSS) on time because of the lack of regular air services to the remote areas where they are located. As a result they are subjected to Auto Suspension from the payroll at the start of each school year. The various aspects relating to the payment of elementary teachers represent an issue to which careful attention deserves to be given.

Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detailed annual planning and budgeting. Strategy Establish principles for the efficient management of elementary schools

Activities

▪ Determine by consultation between stakeholders the responsibilities of various stakeholders in regard to elementary education.

▪ Ensure the acceptance by various levels of government (Provincial, District, LLG) of their responsibility to make funding provisions on an annual basis for the operation of elementary education

Strategy Ensure the establishment of capable Boards of Management and conduct training for these school Boards.

Activities � Review the procedures for the appointment of Boards of Management members when necessary � Introduce the Elementary School Management Manual/Guide (developed by BEDP) � Conduct workshops for the training of BOM members regarding the functions of the BOM

Strategy Ensure an equitable distribution of teaching resources

Activities � Allocate teachers based on agreed criteria

Strategy Institute policies and practices that ensure the prompt and regular payment of salary to elementary teachers and the processing of back-payments

Activities: � Ensure that registration of new schools is monitored until it is approved so that teachers are

not denied salary payments � Provide special assistance for teachers from remote elementary schools to ensure that their

Resumption of Duty forms are lodged promptly and Auto Suspension is avoided � Ensure the availability of necessary documentation to facilitate the processing outstanding

salary non-payments and under-payments


Stakeholders Roles & Responsibilities for Elementary Education Clear demarcation of stakeholder’s roles and responsibilities is vital for effective implementation of policies, programs, activities and projects dealing with elementary education. In this respect following main stakeholders and roles and responsibilities have been identified as a guide. Parents and the Community will be responsible for:

▪ ensuring that all 6-year children are in school;

▪ the construction and maintenance of infrastructure and facilities in the school;

▪ participation in parents and citizens meetings and activities; and

▪ the recommendation of candidates from the community for teacher training. School Boards of Management will be responsible for:

▪ the preparation of the Calender of activities for the school year in line with National Education Calendar and the district elementary education annual activity plan;

▪ the planning and sourcing of funding for the development of infrastructure and facilities;

▪ the development and implementation of a locally-based curriculum; and

▪ the overall management of the school.

▪ Screen all new candidates for training as elementary teachers Local Level Governments (LLG) will be responsible for:

▪ budgeting and allocation of funds for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure and facilities in the school.

Joint District Planning & Budget Priorities Committee (JDPBPC) will be responsible for:

▪ budgeting and allocation of funds for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure and facilities in the school; and

▪ budgeting and allocation of funds for the implementation of elementary education cost subsidy policies. District Education Administration will be responsible for: the preparation and implementation of the annual activity plan for district education; liaison with LLG and JDPBPC for budget provision for elementary schools; and the training, placement and supervision of elementary teachers. Provincial Government & Administration will be responsible for: the preparation, endorsement and coordination of the implementation of the provincial education plan; and ensuring that there is budgetary allocations for elementary schools in the annual provincial education budget. National Government & Department of Education will be responsible for: the payment of teacher’s salaries; assistance with the elementary teacher training and supervision; assistance with the development of the curriculum and orthographies; the provision of opportunities for professional development of teachers; and assistance with the budgetary allocation for basic school supplies.


Major Outcome All children including those with special needs will have access to primary education: where elementary schools have been established, all children between the ages of 9 and 14 years in Sandaun Province will have the opportunity to complete six years of primary education from Grade 3 to Grade 8; in areas where elementary education has not been established, children will begin their education in a community school and complete six years of primary education from Grade 1 to Grade 6 and then have an opportunity of moving on to Grade 7 and 8 at a primary school or a high school.

Access to Primary Education

Minor Outcome P1 Adequate numbers of primary schools in the four districts established to achieve access and retention targets each year There were 208 community and primary schools established in the province by the start of 2007. of these, 140 were community schools still running Grades 1 to 6 classes while 68 were primary schools running Grades 3 to 8 classes under the new reformed system. The table below shows the distribution of Community and Primary Schools by district and agency by start of 2007:

Table 24 Existing Community and Primary Schools by District and Agency

DISTRICT

NUMBER OF SCHOOLS BY AGENCY TOTAL GOVT. CATHOLIC E/ALLIANCE

Comm. Primary Comm. Primary Comm. Primary

AITAPE/LUMI 12 7 13 13 12 4 61

VANIMO/GREEN 20 6 14 5 17 2 64

NUKU 9 3 14 12 4 4 46

TELEFOMIN 14 9 3 1 6 4 37

TOTAL 208

It is not feasible to expand all community schools to primary schools taking on Grades 7 and 8 due to biennial and triennial enrolments and lower academic results. Consideration can be given to the concept of large central primary schools which have continuous annual enrolments and can take in Grade 6 from surrounding community schools. Community schools acting as feeder schools to central primary schools at Grades 7 and 8 need to be retained as lower primary institutions- “lower primary schools” - (Grades 1 to 6 initially but later Grades 3 to 6) in order to provide genuine opportunities for the children of remote areas. Parents will approve sending their children to a central primary school at Grade 7, but they will be reluctant to send Grade 3 children (especially girls) to a boarding institution which is a considerable distance away from their home village. Grade 1 and 2 classes in all districts in the Province will be phased out of primary schools (and of those community schools continuing to offer Grades 3 to 6 in remote areas) by the end of the Plan period as the elementary school system is properly established and operational.

PRIMARY EDUCATION


In 2006, it was estimated that out of approximately 40,000 children of primary school age, 26,000 were in school which translates into an access rate of 63%. Females represent only 43% of the total primary school age population. Attrition rates reached as high as 30% in some schools in remote areas where inability of parents to pay schools is the major contributing factor. It is anticipated that as the infrastructure for primary education becomes more properly-established and realistic opportunities for accessing primary education (especially in remote areas) are offered to children, the majority of primary school-aged children in the Province will complete primary education. Attrition rates will continue, however, to remain a critical issue for the Province and much will depend upon continued school fees assistance and improved community awareness regarding the value of education if targets are to be achieved. If central boarding primary schools are established to provide opportunities for children from remote areas to access primary education, careful planning must take place to ensure that school fees and other charges are not beyond the financial capabilities of the parents of children from the remote areas which such schools are serving. School pastoral care services will also be needed in such institutions. Where remote primary schools have attempted to send their Grade 6 graduates to Grade 7 at a primary school some distance away (rather than to the much more expensive high school for which they have been selected), the attrition rate of these children has been almost 100%. It is anticipated that the percentage of girls enrolled in Grade 3, and of those completing Grade 8 by the end of the Plan period will be consistent with the percentage of girls in the population as a whole. Policies relating to gender equity will need to be constantly reviewed. Achieving projected targets will require the establishment of an average of 15 new primary school Grade 7 classes each year in the Province as shown in the table below.

Table 25 Proposed establishment of new primary school Grade 7 classes 2008 - 2014

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

30 20 15 10 10 10 10

The distribution of these planned new schools needs to be carefully monitored to ensure that there is equitable distribution across the districts. The planned distribution of primary schools by districts throughout the province based on the projected population is shown in Table 26 below.

Target P1.1 All children completing Grade 6 can be accommodated in Grade 7 at a primary school by 2014

Target P1.2 Approximately 85% - 90% Grade 3 to 8 enrolment

rate achieved by 2014

Target P1.3 An average of 15 new primary school Grade 7 classes established each year until 2014


Table 26 Distribution of Primary Schools by Districts

Aitape/Lumi Nuku Vanimo Green

Telefomin Province

Total District Population (2005)

53,382 46,021 50,751 35,587 185,741

Total Existing Primary Schools

22 19 13 14 68

Total Planned Primary Schools

28 24 34 19 105

Total Number of Primary Schools

50 43 47 33 173

Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detailed annual planning and budgeting. Strategy Establish and maintain adequate number of primary schools and gradually phase out community

schools except in remote areas

Activities:

▪ Take complete stock of the existing community and primary schools in each district

▪ Identify community schools to be converted to primary school status each year in each district.

▪ Identify clusters of small community schools in particular areas which can become feeder schools for a larger primary school which is established as a central (boarding) primary school offering Grades 7 and 8 to children from the small community schools after Grade 6;

▪ Ensure that community schools in remote areas are retained as Grade 1- 6 schools until elementary education is established, and then as Grade 3 - 6 schools (“lower primary schools”), feeding in both cases into a central primary school or a high school.

Strategy Improve retention rates of children in primary schooling

Activities:

▪ Conduct awareness in districts on the importance of basic education and skills-oriented training;

▪ Conduct awareness in districts on the rights of girls to be educated;

▪ Develop provincial policies with specific strategies to improve retention;

▪ Review the provincial enrolment policy to address the issues gender equity, enrolment, attendance, re-entry, and repeating grades

Strategy Provide support to remote schools

Activities:

▪ Review the list of disadvantaged schools in the Province based on the criteria established by the NDoE

▪ Develop and present to the National Department of Education a proposed Remote Schools Teacher Incentive Package aimed at attracting and retaining teachers in remote schools - to include increased annual Disadvantaged School allowance, approval for annual leave fares, and promotion incentives for a set number of years service in a remote school.

▪ Develop provincial incentives for teachers to serve in remote areas such as minimum standards of teacher housing, and subsidised travel costs

Relevant and Quality Primary School Curriculum

Minor Outcome P2 A relevant primary school curriculum adopted, implemented and monitored. The national education plan stipulated that a lower primary reform curriculum has been completed and distributed to schools in 2005. The plan further stipulated that updated syllabuses and teacher’s guides was to be provided to all primary schools where text books was to be supplied at the ratio of 1 to 2 students in lower primary and 1 to 1 in the upper primary as outlined in the National Policy for the Procurement, Distribution and Storage of Curriculum Materials (DoE, 2003).


A recent Primary School Inspector’s Status Report on the implementation of the reform education system reported major gap in the implementation. The distribution of curriculum materials was poorly carried out. Many primary schools were established without their bridging and other relevant curriculum materials. Many teachers are waiting to be in-serviced on the new curriculum. There is need to speed up the implementation of the reform curriculum, review and develop relevant curriculum for the province consistent with the national reform curriculum. There is also need to develop other support materials for schools such as materials on HIV/AIDS etc. The establishment of libraries in schools are also needed to stock materials that support and complement school curriculum. The National Education Department will administer curriculum standards monitoring test at Grade 3, 5 and 8 to assess literacy and numeracy performance. It is important for the schools in the province to be aware of such tests and collaborate to ensure improved performance in literacy and numeracy. The National Education Plan calls for greater community and head teacher involvement of in the appraisal of teachers. Local communities, through the Board of Management will be given greater authority in the appraisal of teachers. It is anticipated that this process will have a beneficial effect on teacher attendance. Presently there are 140 community schools in the Province which are teaching Grades 1 to 6. There is a major problem with curriculum in Grades 1 and 2 in these schools because curriculum materials for these Grades are no longer being produced by the National Department of Education. The responsibility for providing sufficient curriculum materials for Grades 1 and 2 in schools retaining these grades as well as newly-established schools in the most remote areas rests with the Province. If equal opportunity is to be given to students from remote and disadvantaged areas, these schools must be retained for at least for the duration of the Plan. The provision of these materials then is an expense which must be accepted and met by the Province

Target P2.1 By 2014 adoption of the Reform Curriculum will have reached implementation level in 75% of schools in the primary sector.

Target P2.2 Skills-oriented programme introduced in all primary

schools by 2009

Target P2.3 Literacy and numeracy standards reported biennially from 2008

Target P2.4 The Province to continue with reprinting and distribution of Grade 1 and 2 curriculum materials until 2014.


Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detail annual planning and budgeting. Strategy Support the implementation of the primary reformed curriculum

Activities:

▪ Carry out a review of the implementation of the reform curriculum in the province;

▪ Province to support training of trainers to train district and school personnel (including those from remote schools) on all aspects of the reform curriculum;

▪ Develop and adopt relevant locally-based curriculum in all primary schools.

▪ Training and monitor head teachers in appraisal techniques

Strategy Provincial Division of Education to ensure procurement and distribution of curriculum and support materials for all subjects at the primary level supplied by the National Department of Education take place on a regular basis and in time for effective use by schools

Activities:

▪ Ensure that adequate student materials and resources are procured from NDoE and distributed to all schools;

▪ Ensure that adequate teacher materials and resources are made procured and distributed to schools

Strategy Provincial Division of Education to ensure that Grade 1 and 2 curriculum materials are available for community schools

▪ Survey the present availability of curriculum materials in Grades 1 and 2 in existing community schools;

▪ Establish the possible availability of unwanted Grade 1 and 2 in schools now converted to primary status;

▪ PDoE to undertake and fund the reprinting of sufficient Grade 1 and 2 curriculum materials to satisfy the needs of existing schools;

▪ PDoE to distribute reprinted materials to relevant community schools

Strategy Establish school libraries to stock materials that support and complement curriculum

Activities:

▪ Prepare project submission to obtain funding for the establishment of libraries

▪ Develop and implement a provincial training programme for teacher-librarians

Quality Teacher Education, Training and Placement

Minor Outcome P3 Sufficient appropriately trained and qualified teachers identified and placed in primary schools. There is shortage of teachers for primary and community schools throughout the province. Prior to the introduction of education reform in PNG, teacher training in the primary sector was open to students who completed Grade 10 in high schools and attended a two year Teaching Certificate course. There are cases in Sandaun province where there are teachers currently teaching who entered teaching from Grade 8 and later upgraded their basic educational qualifications. Recently Grade 12 students are being graduated with a three year Diploma in primary school teaching. Some enterprising communities, particularly in the Oksapmin District, have taken the initiative in trying to address the problem of shortage of teachers in remote areas. They have sponsored local Grade 10 graduates who have not been selected for further training to undertake teacher training offered to Grade 10 graduates from remote areas in Primary Teachers’ Colleges such as Madang and Gaulim. This is a programme which can be made use of by other communities although it does involve significant cost for the communities. The work of teachers has changed as a result of the reformed education system. There is great need for general upgrading of qualifications for those teachers who lack the basic ability to adapt to the new curricula and approaches in teaching methods. In this respect there is need to identify teachers with gaps in teaching capacity and upgrade their capacity so that they can adapt to the new curricula and approaches in teaching methods.


There is need for specific training of selected personnel in educational leadership. Divine Word University has a master’s degree course in this area, however this is beyond the means of many teachers. The real need is training for head teachers in basic administration, financial management, personnel management and curriculum implementation.

Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detailed annual planning and budgeting: Strategy Provide the required number of appropriately-trained and qualified teachers

▪ Identify teacher demand on an annual basis particularly from districts with a record of teacher shortages

▪ Obtain accurate reports from District Education Managers on the number of qualified teachers required in their districts

▪ Undertake, in association with Church Education Agencies, annual recruitment exercises to secure new graduates for the Province either by travelling to teachers colleges or by forwarding advertisements to the colleges

Strategy Provide professional development opportunities for primary school teachers throughout the Province

Activities:

▪ Provide opportunities for upgrading training for teachers who are certificate holders teaching in primary schools and, after training, appoint them back to the school of their tenure.

▪ Ensure proper coordination of upgrading training takes place by centralising all approval for training with the Senior Standards Officer, Primary and his Committee, so that students are not disadvantaged by the absences of teachers undertaking studies

Strategy Provide professional development training for primary school managers

Activities:

▪ Provide workshops in planning and management (financial and personnel) for head teachers and senior teachers at district level

Target P3.1 85% of the teachers in primary schools will have

achieved diploma status by 2014


Management

Minor Outcome P4 Effective management practices make elementary education cost-effective and affordable both for parents and for the government The management of the primary education sector in the province has been a demanding issue given the complexities surrounding the understanding of the concepts of elementary and primary education. Many parents and Boards of Management of community schools were refusing to allow their schools to shift into primary status instead preferring to send their grade six students to conventional high schools. Although proper awareness of the reform system is still not complete throughout the Province, the trend in regard to conversion of community schools to primary schools has now reversed with many schools in every district seeking primary school status. The increasing burden of school fee costs at high schools has had a profound effect on the thinking of many parents who look upon Grades 7 and 8 at a primary school as an acceptable, and far less expensive option. The incapacity in the provincial economy and geographic isolation makes it difficult for parents to meet the cost of children’s education. School fees subsidies will still be forthcoming from the National Government for primary schools. In order to achieve the major outcome for primary education however, a primary education school fee subsidy policy will be developed and adopted by the Provincial Education Board and implemented.

The Provincial Division of Education must work closely with the Provincial finance and planning authorities to ensure that the needs of primary education in the Province are provided for in the Provincial Budget. Local-level Governments will budget for an establishment grant for new schools and maintenance grants for existing schools. These costs will be included in the annual budget estimates and appropriations. The National Department of Education will determine a formula for the deployment of teaching positions. The major criterion for this will be the number of children enrolled. On acceptance of this by provinces, teachers will be allocated to schools accordingly. It is important that this policy which aims at the equitable distribution of teaching resources be accepted by all involved in the primary sector . Poor management at school level is a real concern, particularly the lack of understanding of issues and experience by members of the Boards of Management. This has been addressed to some extent by the activities of the Basic Education Development Project (BEDP) but work in this area needs to be continued. Lack of knowledge and experience in financial management and general school administration by head teachers and delegated administrators is found in most schools and addressing this problem is a priority issue. The regular and prompt distribution of salary cheques and payslips for teachers is a critical issue in maintaining high teacher morale. Serious attention must be given to establishing a reliable system for sending the payroll to remote schools now that air services in the Province have deteriorated. An efficient system for processing claims and salary queries by teachers must also be established at district and provincial levels to ensure that teachers promptly receive their just entitlements.

Target P 4.1 By 2008 the Provincial education Board for Primary and community schools aimed at improving Access to primary education and retention in primary and community schools


Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detailed annual planning and budgeting. Strategy Establish principles for the efficient management of primary schools

Activities

▪ Establish by consultation between stakeholders the roles of headteachers, BOMs, P&Cs and Church Agencies in the management of primary schools

▪ Ensure the acceptance by various levels of government (Provincial, District, LLG) of their responsibility to make funding provisions on an annual basis for the operation of primary education

Strategy Ensure the establishment of capable Boards of Management and conduct training for these school Boards .

Activities � Review the procedures for the appointment of Boards of Management members when necessary � Introduce the Primary School Management Manual/Guide (developed by BEDP) � Promote the work of BEDP teams in providing training for BOMs in school management using the

Primary School Management Guide � Conduct workshops where necessary at district level to train BOMs in their responsibilities

Strategy Develop and implement a sustainable, affordable and appropriate provincial school fee subsidy policy

� Develop a formula to distribute the provincial component of the Education Functional Grant as school fees subsidies to primary

� Ascertain realistic and affordable levels of parental contributions for both rural and urban schools;

� Reduce the burden of school fees on parents through the encouragement of self-reliance activities at the school level

Strategy Ensure efficient use and equitable distribution of teaching resources

Activities � Apply an approved set of criteria for the deployment of teachers to all districts in the Province � Ensure that local language teachers are appointed to Grade 3 classes in appropriate schools

Strategy Institute policies and practices that ensure the prompt and regular payment of salary to primary teachers and the processing of back-payments and claims

Activities: � Negotiate with the Provincial Administration and other Divisions of the Administration for the

establishment of a regular delivery service for teachers’ pays � Provide special assistance for teachers from remote primary schools to ensure that their

Resumption of Duty forms are lodged promptly and Auto Suspension is avoided; � Ensure the availability of necessary documentation to facilitate the processing outstanding

salary non-payments, under-payments and other claims

Stakeholders Roles & Responsibilities for Primary Education Parents and the Community will be responsible for:

▪ ensuring that all 9 to 14 year old children are in school;

▪ the construction and maintenance of infrastructure and facilities in the school;

▪ participation in Parents and Citizens meetings and activities; School Boards of Management will be responsible for:

▪ the preparation of the Calendar of activities for the school year in line with national education Calendar and the district primary education annual activity plan;

▪ the planning and sourcing of funding for the development of infrastructure and facilities;

▪ participating in the preparation and adoption of specific policies regarding management of the school;



▪ the overall management of the school. Local Level Governments (LLG) will be responsible for:

▪ budgeting and allocation of funds for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure and facilities in the school in line with the established policies and guidelines.



▪ budgeting and allocation of funds for the implementation of primary education cost subsidy policies. District Education Administration will be responsible for:

� the preparation and implementation of the annual activity plan for district education; � participating in the preparation and adoption of specific policies regarding management of the school; � liaison with LLG and JDPBPC for budget provision for primary schools; and � the training, placement and supervision of primary teachers.

Provincial Government & Administration will be responsible for:

� the preparation, endorsement and coordination of the implementation of the provincial education plan; � participating in the preparation and adoption of specific policies stated in the strategies under

management; and � ensuring that there are budgetary allocations for primary schools in the annual provincial education

budget. National Government & Department of Education will be responsible for:

� the payment of teacher’s salaries; � assistance with the teacher training and supervision; � assistance with the development of the curriculum materials; � the provision of opportunities for professional development of teachers; and � assistance with the budgetary allocation for basic school supplies.


Major Outcome

In areas in Sandaun Province where primary schools have been introduced, selected children between the ages of 15 and 18 years who meet the academic criteria established by the National Department of Education will have the opportunity to complete up to four years of secondary education from Grade 9 to Grade 12. In areas where there is no primary school, selected children will commence Grade 7 at a limited number of high schools (which will retain Grades 7 and 8) and complete four years of education from Grades 7 to 10 provided they continue to meet designated academic criteria over this period.

Access to Secondary Education

Minor Outcome S1: Adequate and appropriate number of secondary schools in locations throughout the province established, equipped and supported to make secondary education accessible to all academically-capable students

There were nine high schools and secondary schools in the province at the start of 2007. Six of these are conventional high schools, Grades 7 to 10, some of them at various stages of adopting the reform set-up and discarding Grades 7 and 8, one (Oksapmin) a new Grade 9 -10 high school accepting its first intake of classes in 2007, and two secondary schools Grades 9 to 12. This is shown in Table 27 below.

Table 27 Schools conducting secondary education in the province at start of 2007

Schools District Existing Status

Agency Existing Grades

Reform Grades*

Gender Enrolmnt

St. Ignatius Aitape/Lumi Sec. School Catholic 9 – 12 9 – 12 Mixed

Aitape Aitape/Lumi High School Govt. 7 – 10 9 – 10 Mixed

Lumi Aitape/Lumi High School Govt. 7 – 10 9 – 10 Mixed

Nuku Nuku High School Catholic 8 – 10 9 – 10 Mixed

Telefomin Telefomin High School Govt. 8 – 10 9 – 10 Mixed

Oksapmin Telefomin High School EA 9 only 9 – 10 Mixed

Vanimo Vanimo/Green High School Govt. 7 – 10 9 – 10 Mixed

Don Bosco Vanimo/Green Sec. School Catholic 9 – 12 9 – 12 Male

Green River Vanimo/Green High School EA 7 – 10 9 – 10 Mixed

The number and distribution of schools throughout the province appears to be adequate and representative. It is planned that within the period 2007 – 2014, the two conventional high schools (St Francis, Nuku and Telefomin) will discard Grades 7 and 8 completely and run only lower secondary classes of Grades 9 and 10. Oksapmin High School at Tekin will continue to be a Grade 9 and 10 high school. The transition of the other four conventional high schools (Aitape, Green River, Lumi, and Vanimo) will depend on the establishment and full-functioning of primary schools within the respective catchment areas to take on Grades 7 and 8 classes. Grades 7 and 8 will be retained in some or all of the four conventional high schools until such time as there are appropriate primary schools for children from remote community schools to have a proper opportunity of undertaking Grades 7 and 8. A Grade 6 Examination will still be required at the Provincial level for as long as Grade 7 and 8 classes remain in conventional high school

Target S1.1 Grades 7 and 8 will be phased out of conventional high schools by 2014

SECONDARY EDUCATION


It is also planned that, St. Ignatius Secondary School in Aitape and Don Bosco in Vanimo will continue to operate as full secondary schools, with lower secondary classes of Grades 9 and 10 and upper secondary classes of Grades 11 and 12 . A main concern regarding access to secondary education in the province relates to lack of equal opportunities for female students to complete Grades 11 and 12. As shown in Table 28 above, only one of the two secondary schools enrols female students. While St. Ignatius Secondary School has moved steadily towards achieving a gender balance in student enrolment, the fact remains that because there is no other secondary school in the province which enrols girls, female students in the province are disadvantaged. In recent years this problem has been reduced by the fact that Passam National High School in East Sepik Province has accepted significant number of girls from Sandaun Province into Grade 11 (23 students in 2006 and 23 in 2007). This is not considered to be entirely satisfactory because of the travel involved and because of the reputation of Passam National High School for instability. The current questions on the continuation of Passam as a National High School pose a big problem for the Grade 11 girls from Sandaun Province.

Table 28 Transition from Grade 10 to Grade 11 in Sandaun Province 2004 - 2006

Year No. Gr 10 stds No. stds selected For Grade 11

No. stds for SISS

No. stds for DBSS

No.stds for Passam

Transit- ion Rate*

2004 658 211 121 73 17 32%

2005 677 247 122 102 23 36%

2006 754 267 132 112 23 35%

*Transition Rate represents the percentage of Grade 10 students who are accepted for Grade 11 studies. The figures in Table 28 show that the transition rate for Grade 10 students to Grade 11 in Sandaun Province over the three year period 2004 -2006 has been about 35%. This is considerably higher than the rate recommended in the NEP which is 25%. This means that although Sandaun Province has only two secondary schools, the percentage of students proceeding from Grade 10 to Grade 11 is above the nationally-recommended rate. The concern in the Province is not then a shortage of Grade 11 places but rather an equal opportunity for females and males at Grade 11 level The most easily-achieved solution to the problem of providing more opportunities for females at Grade 11 level would be for Don Bosco Secondary School in Vanimo to become co-educational. The conversion of Don Bosco Secondary School to a co-educational institution involves no administrative problems from an NDOE point of view. The initiative for such a move must however originate with the Board of Governors of the school and have the full approval of the Catholic Agency of the Diocese of Vanimo. The need for another high school to be expanded to take Grades 11 and 12 may arise as enrolments at Grades 9 and 10 increase at high schools as a result of the increased number of children proceeding from primary schools. This process must however satisfy the criteria laid down in Secretary’s Instruction:04/2006 “Secondary School (Grade 11 and 12) Establishment” which states (inter alia):

• Only eight (8) grade 11 classes will be approved nationally each year For a school to be considered for Grade 11 classes, the following guidelines will be applied:

• Transition rates in the province between Grade 10 and 11 must have fallen below 25% in the previous year;

• The school has had three consecutive satisfactory inspections;

• A province has reached the maximum physical capacity in existing secondary schools;

• There is only one secondary school in the province;

• Seventy-five percent of teachers will have first-degree qualifications. The expansion of an existing high school to secondary (Grade 11-12) status is a move that the Province will embrace when, or if, the situation allows the criteria of the NDoE to be met.


The location of this third secondary school will be determined by the number of factors – geographic political, social. Some factors which must also be considered in arriving at the choice of such a school include: the ease of recruitment of qualified teachers the accessibility of the school by students from various parts of the Province the logistics of providing adequate and continuous food supply for students and teachers

In view of the difficulties of communication and airline access to remote parts of the Province, and the limited availability in such areas of the services expected by teachers, the feasibility of locating any further secondary school at a location not on the coast is very unlikely.

Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detail annual planning and budgeting. Strategy Establish and maintain adequate number of secondary schools in the secondary sector

Activities:

▪ Survey and analyse the present situation in upper and lower secondary education in the Province;

▪ Establish or maintain sufficient secondary schools to ensure that the transition rate from Grade 10 to Grade 11 does not fall below 25%;

▪ Ensure that there are sufficient schools providing lower secondary (Grades 9 and 10) places so that the transition rate from Grade 8 to Grade 9 does not drop below 50%

▪ Retain Grades 7 and 8 in sufficient high schools to ensure that children from remote areas have an opportunity of accessing Grade 7 and 8 education.

▪ Ensure the availability of sufficient places for girls in Grades 11 and 12 in secondary schools

Strategy Improve retention of children in secondary schooling

Activities:

▪ Develop provincial policies with specific strategies to improve retention;

▪ Conduct awareness in districts on the importance of schooling with emphasis on the value of girls receiving secondary education

▪ Review the provincial enrolment policy to address the issues gender equity, enrolment, attendance, re-entry, and repeating grades

Strategy Provide support to remote schools

Activities:

▪ Carry out a survey to identify requirements for assistance to remote schools.

▪ Develop and present to the National Department of Education a proposed Remote Schools Teacher Incentive Package aimed at attracting and retaining teachers in remote schools - to include increased annual Disadvantaged School allowance, approval for annual leave fares, and promotion incentives for a set number of years service in a remote school.

▪ Develop provincial incentives for teachers to serve in remote areas such as minimum standards of teacher housing, and subsidised travel costs

Relevant and Quality Secondary Curriculum Minor Outcome S2: A relevant secondary curriculum adopted, implemented and monitored. Secondary and high schools in the province follow the National secondary curriculum. The academic performance of secondary and high schools in the province over the years based on the national curriculum has produced mixed results - extremes of outstanding and very low performance. Green River High School (over the past 10 years) and St. Ignatius Secondary (for more than 20 years) have been two of most

Target S1.2 An existing High be upgraded to secondary status by 2011 provided that prescribed NDOE conditions for expansion are met.


academically high rating schools in the secondary sector in PNG. Generally low performances have been achieved at Grade 10 level in remote high schools. The main reason for this is the problem in attracting properly qualified teachers to more remote schools in Nuku, Lumi and Telefomin areas. Many students at secondary level throughout the province who leave school end up doing nothing in their communities. Some school Board of Management have mooted the thoughts for the development and implementation of school-based curriculum to address the need to prepare students (particularly, in remote schools) for returning back to their communities with basic knowledge and skills in agriculture, fisheries, trade skills, home economics and expressive arts for meaningful community living. It is planned that school-based curriculum will be developed and implemented by respective schools with guidance and assistance from the provincial and national education authorities. The two secondary schools in the Province have well-equipped and well-stocked libraries, but in general libraries at the high schools in the Province are deficient in both facilities and books. The value of libraries in secondary education cannot be over-estimated and the need to ensure that all secondary institutions in the Province have a functional and functioning library is an urgent one. Secondary school inspectors will provide advisory and inspectorial visits to each secondary school each year. Checking school finances, curriculum implementation, school administration and performing an advisory role will be their main functions, while school-based teacher appraisal will become one of the main function s of the school’s administration. The Division of Education should continue to support the role of inspectors through its Divisional budgets. The role of a Guidance Officer in the Province is considered to be of importance especially in regard to the administration of Academic Aptitude Tests for Grade Nines and Differential Aptitude Tests for Grade Elevens. Visits to remote schools however have been rare or absent in recent years, although these are the very schools which would benefit most from such visits and support. Another area of importance is the counselling of students. While the value of counselling services for students is not questioned, the calibre and experience of potential school counsellors must be of a very high standard if students are to heed, and to benefit from, the advice or assistance of a counsellor in the school. Schools and selecting authorities must adopt a more serious approach to the nomination and screening of candidates to attempt to ensure that persons who are trained will emerge from training as effective and respected school counsellors.

Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detail annual planning and budgeting. Strategy Ensure that all secondary schools are adequately supplied with all relevant curriculum materials

Activities:

▪ Inspectors ensure that schools are aware of current curricula and curriculum materials in all subjects

▪ School Boards of Governors approve funding for the purchase or reprinting of relevant curriculum materials

Strategy Develop and implement school-based curriculum

Activities:

▪ Carry out assessment of community –based knowledge and skills which could have potential as the basis for a locally-based curriculum

▪ Develop and implement locally-based curriculum in each school

Strategy Establish school libraries to stock materials that support and complement curriculum

Activities:

▪ Prepare project submissions to obtain funding for the establishment of libraries

▪ Establish training programmes for teacher-librarians

Target S2.1 School-based curriculum committees are established by 2009


Quality Teacher Education, Training and Placement

Minor Outcome S3: Sufficient appropriately-trained teachers identified and deployed in secondary schools throughout the Province.

Teacher shortage continued to be a problem in all education sectors throughout the province and secondary sector is no exception. The very low performance at Grade 10 level in remote high schools has been due to the problem in attracting properly qualified teachers to more remote schools. These schools are difficult and expensive to reach, communication is difficult, supply of essential services such as health and banking is erratic, and food is both irregular in supply and expensive in cost. Unless they are from the local area, teachers are reluctant to accept appointment to remote schools. This has resulted in schools often being short of teachers or having no specialist teachers in certain key subject areas. The number of teachers recruited and placed in schools between 2003 and 2007 is shown in Table 00 below. As can be seen from the table below, teaching staff strength have not been steady in most schools due the reasons mentioned above.

Table 29 Number of Teachers by School and Year

School 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Aitape High 18 20 20 19 19

Lumi High 13 15 18 15 15

Telefomin High 13 14 20 16 15

Vanimo High 13 15 15 15 16

Green River High 11 10 13 11 9

St. Ignatius Secondary 25 29 29 29 28

Nuku High 9 10 12 9 9

Don Bosco Secondary 22 16 22 19 22

Oksapmin High 0 0 0 0 5

Total 124 129 149 133 136

One particular issue of concern in the province is the deficiency in a key subject area (English) in secondary school due to lack of specialist English teachers. This problem was addressed for a number of years by the recruitment of expatriate first language English teachers. Since the recruitment of such teachers was banned, the problem has been worsened. As English is the main medium of instruction in high schools and secondary schools, the lack of specialist English teachers has the ability to seriously affect the overall academic performance of students in the province in the immediate future. If any relaxation on the ban on recruiting overseas teachers is granted, the opportunity should be grasped by schools to recruit first-language English teachers as a priority. There is also great shortage of qualified teachers in other specific disciplines at secondary school level and this will become an increasing problem in the near future. Teachers capable of teaching mathematics, biology, physics and economics are very difficult to find, especially those who can help students achieve the standards of entry for the more demanding faculties of UPNG and the University of Technology. Another important area of teacher training is specific training of selected personnel in educational leadership. Divine Word University offers a Masters Degree course in this area and some teachers in the province have

Target S3.1 Each school in the secondary sector will have at least one specialist English teacher by 2009


applied for this training, however the cost is beyond the means of many teachers. The provincial administration should take into serious considerations in seeking assistance for such training.

Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detail annual planning and budgeting. Strategy Recruit and deploy required number of teachers with appropriate qualifications in secondary

institutions

Activities:

▪ Identify teacher demand based on subject needs on an annual basis;

▪ Undertake recruitment of graduates from University of Goroka, PAU and other possible institutions by visits or by advertisements to the institutions;

▪ Upgrade qualifications of interested teachers with appropriate training and then reappoint them to school of their tenure.

Strategy Recruit teachers in specialist subjects for schools

Activities:

▪ Pursue means of recruiting specialist English teachers for all schools in the Province

▪ Pursue means of recruitment of teachers of secondary mathematics and science.

Strategy Provide professional development opportunities for School Principals/Headteachers

Activities:

▪ Provide financial management and leadership training for school principals and headteachers

Management Minor Outcome S4 An efficient and effective secondary education management system established and managed. Some high schools throughout the province will continue to run Grades 7 and 8 for some time yet due to biannual and triennial enrolment of small community schools which will not be able to shift to primary schools. Careful monitoring of the enrolments in Grade 7 at these high schools will be needed to decide when the retention of these grades at particular high schools is no longer economically feasible. The incapacity in the provincial economy and geographic isolation makes it difficult for parents to meet the cost of children’s education. School fees subsidies will still be forthcoming from the National Government for secondary schools, but the focus has now shifted in the National Education Plan from Secondary Education. Parental contributions will still be required and these fees will be determined on an annual basis by individual Boards of Governors based upon directives from National and Provincial Education Boards. The Provincial Division of Education must work closely with the Provincial finance and planning authorities to ensure that the needs of primary education in the Province are provided for in the Provincial Budget. Local-level Governments will budget for an establishment grant for new schools and maintenance grants for existing schools. These costs will be included in the annual budget estimates and appropriations. Efficient management within the secondary sector has declined in recent years in the province. The appointment processes and activities of Boards of Governors in some schools indicates that there is not clear understanding of the provisions of the Sandaun Education Act, 2001 relating to the appointment and functions of Boards of Governors. Lack of efficient management applies equally at all the senior levels in the schools – Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher, Senior Subject Master or Head of Department levels. There is no longer specific training for management positions and officers often proceed to senior positions with little or no training for such roles

Target S4.1

The level of parental contribution to school fees in the secondary sector will be determined on an annual basis by individual Boards of Governors and approved by the Provincial Education Board


unless there has been an internal program of training within the school. A serious area of deficiency is financial management whereby proper use and acquittal of funds is a serious concern in some schools. The absence of a professional studies course at the University of Goroka means that graduate teachers are unaware of their professional responsibilities as teachers. There are also indications that because of these teachers are also deficient in many cases in their student management skills. This has increasingly manifested itself in a lack of discipline among teachers and a relaxed attitude towards the discipline of students.

Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detailed annual planning and budgeting. Strategy Establish principles for the efficient management of secondary schools

Activities

▪ Establish by consultation between stakeholders the roles of headteachers, BOGs, P&Cs and Church Agencies in the management of secondary schools

▪ Ensure the acceptance by various levels of government (Provincial, District, LLG) of their responsibility to make funding provisions on an annual basis for the operation of primary education

Strategy Ensure the establishment of capable Boards of Governors and conduct training for these school Boards .

Activities � Review the procedures for the appointment of Boards of Governors members when necessary � Conduct workshops where necessary at district level to train BOGs in their responsibilities

Strategy Develop and implement a sustainable, affordable and appropriate provincial school fee subsidy policy

� Develop a formula to distribute the provincial component of the Education Functional Grant as school fees subsidies to schools in the secondary sector

� Ascertain realistic and affordable levels of parental contributions for both rural and urban schools;

� Reduce the burden of school fees on parents through the encouragement of self-reliance activities at the school level

Strategy Ensure efficient use and equitable distribution of teaching resources

Activities � Apply an approved set of criteria for the deployment of teachers to all districts in the Province � Develop and implement a set of criteria for teacher deployment to all schools in the Province

especially those in the rural areas.

Strategy Institute policies and practices that ensure the prompt and regular payment of salary to primary teachers and the processing of back-payments and claims

Activities: � Negotiate with the Provincial Administration and other Divisions of the Administration for the

establishment of a regular delivery service for teachers’ pays � Provide special assistance for teachers from remote secondary schools to ensure that their

Resumption of Duty forms are lodged promptly and Auto Suspension is avoided; � Ensure the availability of necessary documentation to facilitate the processing outstanding

salary non-payments, under-payments and other claims


Stakeholders Roles & Responsibilities Parents and the Community will be responsible for:

▪ ensuring that all 15-18 years of age children who have been selected are in school;

▪ pay the required school fees; and

▪ participate at the Board of Governors as and when required. School Boards of Governors will be responsible for:

▪ the preparation of the Calendar of activities for the school year in line with national education Calendar and the district secondary education annual activity plan;

▪ the planning and sourcing funding for the development of infrastructure and facilities;

▪ the recommendation of parental contribution to school fees annually;

▪ the appraisal of teachers;


▪ the overall governance of the school. Local Level Governments (LLG) will be responsible for:

▪ budgeting and allocation of funds for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure and facilities in the school based on request from schools.



▪ budgeting and allocation of funds for the implementation of secondary education cost subsidy policies. District Education Administration will be responsible for: the preparation and implementation of the annual activity plan for district education; liaison with LLG and JDPBPC for budget provision for secondary schools; and the recruitment, placement and supervision of secondary teachers. Provincial Government & Administration will be responsible for: the preparation, endorsement and coordination of the implementation of the provincial education plan; and ensuring that there is budgetary allocations for secondary schools in the annual provincial education budget. National Government & Department of Education will be responsible for: the payment of teacher’s salaries; assistance with the secondary teacher training and supervision; assistance with the development, monitoring and review of the secondary and school-based curriculum; the provision of opportunities for professional development of teachers; and assistance with the budgetary allocation for acquisition and supply of professional teaching aids, materials and supplies.


Major Outcome

The Flexible, Open and Distance Education (FODE) system provides all students in Sandaun Province who have left the formal education system with alternative opportunities to pursue further appropriate and affordable education up to tertiary level.

Access

Minor Outcome F1: A significant increase in enrolment in FODE courses achieved. The National Education Plan states that since 1995 there has been an increase in the number of school leavers and this has been coupled with a lack of access to secondary and higher education. The numbers in Sandaun Province cannot be established at this stage, however it is obvious that there are children in the Province who could not make it through the formal system who need help to further their education. There is an urgent need for FODE in the Province to provide an opportunity for students to complete their basic secondary education and also provide other educational and training opportunities in the informal sector Currently there are three established centres providing access for this sector. The three centres comprise the Provincial Flexible and Open Distance Education (FODE) Centre in Vanimo, the University Centre located at the campus of Don Bosco Secondary School in Vanimo and affiliated to University of Papua New Guinea and the NALU Centre for Advance Education located at the Aitape Catholic Church establishment in Aitape and affiliated to PNG University of Technology. Enrolments through the three centres have been minimal due largely to inadequate awareness of the availability of this alternative education service; questions regarding the quality of training provided through these centres; lack of support and recognition from the appropriate authorities. Enrolments in FODE would increase dramatically if Study Centres for FODE were established at the district level. The Provincial Government should demonstrate its support for the concept of FODE by funding infrastructure for FODE centres at district level. Once the infrastructure is in place, the centres should be self-sustaining through the payments made by students for courses. In the mean time a proposal has been submitted by Sandaun Provincial Administration to National Planning seeking Public Investment Program funding for the establishment of a “Sandaun Centre for Learning” at the provincial capital of Vanimo aimed at providing an avenue for FODE type education and learning, as well as a variety of other education- related activities.

Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detail annual planning and budgeting. Strategy Conduct awareness on education services available through FODE

Activities:

Target F1.1 Each district will have suitable facilities to conduct and administer FODE by 2012.

FLEXIBLE, OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATION PLAN


▪ Conduct provincial awareness on education services available through FODE

▪ Liaise with formal education providers about FODE opportunities available for school leavers

Strategy Increase the number of study facilities throughout the Province

Activities: � Identify potential training facilities for FODE in each district � Seek commitment from the Provincial Government to fund infrastructure development for FODE

centres in each district .

Strategy Establish the Sandaun Centre for Learning in Vanimo

Activities:

▪ Follow up the PIP submission and secure funding for construction of the Centre.

Relevant and Quality Curriculum

Minor Outcome F2: The curriculum and assessment programs offered will be based on, and articulate with, the mainstream education system (NEP 2005 – 2014) It is planned that the curriculum and assessment programs offered by the respective FODE institutions in the province will be based on the national curriculum for the main stream education system. However, institutions are free to include other value-added programs which allow students to attain other qualifications which may be useful to them for employment or further education. This means that FODE will be integrated into the formal education system. Subsequently students who meet the accepted requirements and want to do their secondary education through FODE can transfer to conventional schools. In order to achieve this, the examinations sat by FODE students will be the same as those sat by students in the formal education system. The process of assessment of FODE students will be reviewed to ensure consistency with that of the formal system. Current mode of instruction for FODE is through print material only. All materials are printed by the FODE headquarters in Port Moresby and sent to provinces. There are problems with the quantity and timely receipt of materials due to inefficient transport system in the province and lack of funding for the purchase of materials. At the present time, there has been no development in the province of more relevant curriculum for FODE for the province despite students expressing the need for relevant courses apart from the general education in Grades 7 to 10 to be conducted through FODE. It is planned that considerations be given to the development of adult education, adult literacy and short technical courses.

Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detailed annual planning and budgeting. Strategy Adopt and Implement National FODE Curriculum and Other Value-Added Programs

Activities:

▪ Ensure that the relevant curriculum is readily available at the Provincial FODE Centre

▪ Distribute curriculum materials to FODE providers promptly

▪ Develop and deliver other value-added programs based on needs and demand of local area.

▪ Evaluate implementation of national curriculum and provide feed back on timely basis.

Target F2.1 Curriculum taught at FODE is equal to that in the formal education system by 2008


Minor Outcome FODE3: Sufficient appropriately qualified staff and personnel recruited and placed. Most instructors at the three FODE centres in the province are volunteers with or without a teaching background who possess College or University qualifications. These instructors provide guidance for students through the printed materials while the student does most of the work with the study and assignments. The fact that these instructors/teachers are volunteers immediately confers on the system a sense of instability, inasmuch as there are few professional people who are willing, or able, to volunteer their services for too long a period. Financial remuneration for services rendered is necessary for personal survival. Hence, if FODE is to become an integral part of the education system within the Province, and if the National Department of Education is willing to pay only a Provincial Coordinator, a Provincial system to support personnel working in the FODE system at Provincial and District level must be instigated. Marking of completed material is a very demanding and time-consuming task. There is a need to have markers who are easily accessible from the Study Centre. There is need for readily available funding for immediate engagement of markers. The NALU Centre in Aitape was fortunate to secure annual funding (starting in 2007 Budget) through an agreement with the Aitape Catholic Church to provide wages for all personnel of the centre including markers. The University Centre conducted at Don Bosco Secondary School campus also finds its own funding for the payment of markers. The need to fund the payment of competent markers for the study centres is an important issue that must be addressed; Although FODE is a community initiative, the province administration should have an interest in the quality of instructors to ensure quality service is provided by the FODE system.

Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detail annual planning and budgeting. Strategy Provide manpower for the FODE system by establishing a system of financial support at

Provincial level for FODE instructors and markers

Activities:

▪ Carry out a staff needs and requirements survey for existing and proposed FODE centres.

▪ Develop a proposal for the Provincial Government in relation to providing financial support for FODE instructors and markers.

Management

Minor Outcome FODE 4: Provincial institutions offering Flexible, Open and Distance Education established and managed.

It is anticipated that by the end of the period of the Plan, FODE will be an active and effective community-friendly system providing for the needs of those who wish to acquire further formal education qualifications. To achieve this, a Memorandum of Agreement must first be negotiated with the National Authorities representing FODE and then the MOA signed between the Sandaun Provincial Government and FODE.

Target F3.1 A Provincial personnel support system for FODE to be established by 2012



It should be insisted that any Provincial Government support for FODE should be directed within the Province and not forwarded to the National FODE office. A means available to the Provincial Government to assist FODE immediately in a tangible way is by directing that part of the annual Education Functional Grant which is paid out in subsidies to schools in all sectors also encompass FODE Centres. The Provincial Government should demonstrate its support for FODE as an important part of the Provincial education system by directing that Provincial subsidies (second and fourth quarters) should be paid to FODE centres on a per capita basis. In addition to this, formal assistance should be given to the study centres through the annual Provincial Budget allocations, to cater for the recurrent costs; A coordinated management of the provision of this education service through the provincial education administration is essential to ensure that students are not deceived by bogus entrepreneurs claiming, without authorisation, to provide CODE and matriculation studies and charging exorbitant fees for the service. The Provincial FODE Coordinator with assistance from the Provincial Division of Education should be empowered to screen and approve any establishment of FODE- related institutions in the province;

Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detailed annual planning and budgeting. Strategy Liaise with National FODE Headquarters and restructure the Provincial FODE establishment

Activities:

▪ Negotiate a Memorandum of Agreement between the Sandaun Provincial Government and FODE and have this MOA signed

▪ Establish District FODE Centres

▪ Obtain Provincial Government commitment to provide financial support for the administration of the FODE system in the Province

The Provincial FODE Centre will be responsible for: establishment of a Board for FODE Sandaun. preparation and completion of Sandaun FODE plans ensuring that execution of the plans especially in districts is carried out; efficient services are provided to the students in both Provincial and District Centres of FODE in Sandaun Province. Parents and the Community will be responsible for:

▪ encouraging all children who have left school pursue FODE;

▪ pay the required fees for courses for their children;

▪ contribute finance and assistance in kind to support the schools; and Local Level Governments (LLG) will be responsible for:

Target F4.1 A Memorandum of Agreement be signed by the Sandaun

Provincial Government for support of FODE by 2009

Target F4.2 Provincial subsidies (second and fourth quarters) be paid to registered FODE centres on a per capita basis by 2008 to assist with the operations of the centres.

Stakeholders Roles & Responsibilities


▪ budgeting and allocation of funds for FODE operations such as infrastructure and maintenance, salaries for additional staff and other costs as contained in endorsed District Education Plans


▪ budgeting and allocation of funds for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure and facilities in District FODE Centres.

District Education Administration will be responsible for: � the preparation and implementation of the annual activity plan for district education � liaison with LLG and JDPBPC for budget provision for District FODE centres; and � close supervision of the FODE Plan in consultation with the FODE Provincial Centre Provincial Government & Administration will be responsible for: � the preparation, endorsement and coordination of the implementation of the provincial education plan; � development of a policy relating to the allocation of part of the provincial component of subsidies to FODE

Centres; � developing a policy for providing personnel support funding for FODE Centres; � ensuring that there is budgetary allocations for FODE in the annual Provincial Budget. National Government & Department of Education will be responsible for: the monitoring of implementation of FODE in the province through the provincial education plan; the preparation, printing and distribution of FODE/CODE materials; assistance with the development, monitoring and review of the FODE curriculum

Overview Special Education in the Province has been undertaken only on the initiative of the Catholic Church in Aitape and in Vanimo. The Father Antonine Centre for Disabled Persons in Aitape was established by the Diocese of Aitape for persons with various physical handicaps and commenced initially as a rehabilitation centre. The work of the Centre expanded greatly after the catastrophic tsunami on the west coast of Aitape in 1998 left in its wake numerous children particularly who required amputation of a leg. It was during this time that an educational element was added to the scope of the Father Antonine Centre. The Saint Gemma Senta Bilong Helpim in Vanimo was established by the Passionist Order within the Diocese of Vanimo to give care and assistance to children with both physical and mental disabilities. An educational element was incorporated into the work of the Senta but teaching was informal and carried out by volunteers who were not trained teachers. Community-Based Rehabilitation formed the basis of approach of the Senta Bilong Helpim. The Diocese of Aitape requested Callan Services in Wewak to establish a Special Education School in Aitape at the Father Antonine Centre to provide formal education to children with special needs. This school was established, under the control of the National Education Board (NEB), with a staff of four teachers and is fully operational. In 2007, on the initiative of Brother Graeme Leach, founder of Callan Services Wewak, an arrangement was made to locate a teacher trained in Special Education at Baro Primary School in Vanimo to provide for children with hearing impairment. The teacher would act on a position from Callan Services Aitape which was not being utilized. This marked the first instance in the Province of full inclusive education for children with special needs.

SPECIAL EDUCATION IN WEST SEPIK PROVINCE


At the secondary level, Saint Ignatius Secondary School which was given AusAID-funding to expand to Grade 11 and 12, incorporated provision for physically-handicapped students in the building programme which commenced in 2000 and 2001. It was decided that provision must be made for the children who had suffered disabilities during the tsunami and who may in time proceed on to secondary school. Examples of special features incorporated into the design included toilet facilities for disabled persons, shower facilities for disabled persons, concrete paths linking dormitories and classrooms, ramps at entrances to dining hall and toilet /ablution block and classrooms. This has enabled students with physical disabilities to attend Saint Ignatius Secondary School. Plan for Special Education the period 2007 – 2014 The placement of a teacher with Special Education qualifications at Baro Primary School in Vanimo in 2007 should stand as a signal of the Province’s intention to pursue Inclusive Education for children with special needs. In the Vision for all sectors of this Plan, from elementary to primary to secondary to FODE, opportunity is required to be given to children with special needs on an equal basis to those who do not have special needs. This will require close communication with Callan Services which is at the forefront in PNG in providing education for children with special needs. It should be remembered that the accreditation and payment of special education teachers comes under the authority of the National Education Board. Institutions such as Saint Gemma’s Senta Bilong Helpim whioch will continue to support intellectually-handicapped children deserve to receive financial support from both government and the community. If the Plan’s aim : Seeking to empower every Sandaun child is to more than just a meaningless title for a Plan, children with intellectual handicaps deserve to be assisted to achieve their potential as much as children who do not have such disabilities.

In renovations to schools or the building of new schools, care should be taken to incorporate features which allow children with disabilities to attend the school without undue difficulty. Single storey buildings, concrete paths, ramps, modified toilet facilities are some of the features which should be considered.


Major Outcome

Vocational Education institutions in all districts offer alternative, skills-based learning for students leaving the formal education system and for other members of local communities. Appropriate and relevant courses of varying lengths cater for the training needs of Grade 8 and Grade 10 leavers including those with special needs, and for interested and capable adults in the community.

Minor Outcome V1 Adequate number of TVET institutions established throughout the Province. Nominally there are sixteen vocational centres and one technical secondary school in the Province (refer Table 20). Of the 16 vocational centres, five have been closed for a long period of time (Puang, Baro, Nukuanglo,Oksapmin and Wasengla), two are presently closed (Seim and Yanungen) and nine(9) are operational to varying degrees. Don Bosco Secondary School is fully operational and running technical trade courses. (It should be noted however that students at Don Bosco Secondary School study a full academic Grade 10 and Grade 12 curriculum in addition to receiving technical training in specific fields). Of the nine currently-operating vocational centres, Pes Vocational Centre in Aitape and Wassisi Vocational Centre in Nuku are running courses specifically for girls. In response to the proposal from the National Department of Education to rationalise the number of vocational centres in the Province, with a view to eliminating duplication of administrative functions and also of developing better teaching and living facilities and capable of offering a wider range of courses and types of courses, the Provincial Education Board (PEB) deliberated on the centres which would become the preferred centres for vocational training in the Province. PEB Resolution 28/2006 passed at the First Meeting of the PEB for 2006 (1/2006) held 22-23 March, 2006 decided that the major centres would be located at:

• Telefomin (Telefomin District)

• Amanab (Vanimo-Green District)

• Aitape (Aitape-Lumi District)

• Anguganak (Nuku District)

• Warapalpal (Nuku District). The sixteen (16) vocational centres will be reduced to five (5) major centres to maximise resources and increase productivity. This does not mean that existing vocational centres will be closed. These will continue to operate offering specific courses to students but they will be administered as “satellites” of the central vocational centre in each District.

� In Aitape, Arop and Pes Vocational Centres will be satellites of Aitape Vocational Centre;

Target V1.1 An appropriate number of TVET centres will be developed throughout the Province by 2014

Access to Vocational Education and Training

TECHNICAL VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING


� Lumi Vocational Centre will be a satellite of Anguganak Vocational Centre; � In Nuku, Yimbrasi and Wassisi Vocational Centres will be satellites of Warapalpal Vocational Centre.

The “average” central institution will be one offering a core course of one year in duration targeting, primarily, Grade 8 graduates. Some programmes will be targeted at Grade 10 school leavers. The responsibility for the enrolment of students in full-time courses will rest with the Provincial Education Board, in close consultation with the individual Boards of Management. Adult enrolment will be permissible as long as the applicants meet all entry requirements. A significant portion of resources will be used for providing short courses for adults and youths in the community. It is anticipated that the enrolments in vocational centres will increase, in relation to current enrolments, as a result of changes in the lengths of programmes. The enrolment in all vocational centres in 2005 was 389 students. A significant increase in this enrolment figure is anticipated during the life of the Plan. An enrolment figure of 700 in 2014 would represent and 80% increase in enrolments compared to 2005 figures.

Of the 389 students attending vocational centres in 2005, only 75 were females. This means that 19% of the enrolments at vocational centres were females. By offering courses specifically relevant to female, this rate of female enrolments is expected to increase significantly by 2014. The percentage of female enrolments should double by 2014.

The Province already has a Technical Secondary School – Don Bosco Secondary School – offering a wide range of trade-skills courses up to Grade 12 level. Accreditation of, and certification for, these courses by TVET should be sought under the new TVET system. The possibility of these courses being recognised as credit units towards Certificates and Diplomas at Technical Colleges throughout PNG can also be explored. With the development of two year courses for Grade 8 students in selected vocational institutions, these centres should be gradually upgraded to become Technical high schools.

Strategies and Activities Following strategies and activities shall form the basis for detailed annual planning and budgeting.

Strategy Ensure appropriate number of vocational centres in all districts in the Province

Target V1.2 Enrolments in vocational centres will increase by 80% on current enrolments by 2014.

Target V1.3 Females will represent 40% of the total enrolments in vocational centres by 2014

Target V1.4 Accreditation and certification of trade skills courses conducted at Don Bosco secondary school be sort from TVET as soon as the new TVET system is introduced, with a view to these qualifications being recognised as credit units toward higher studies at Technical Colleges in PNG.


Activities:

▪ Review the status of vocational centres in the province

▪ Implement the PEB decision regarding the identification of five major vocational centres in the Province

▪ Establish a framework for effective satellite centres administered from the main centres.

Strategy Expand, or provide maintenance for, infrastructure in vocational centres throughout the Province

Activities:

▪ Identify the needs in terms of building maintenance and equipment of vocational centres in the Province.

▪ Secure funding from donor partners to expand or maintain vocational centres in every district.

Strategy Increase enrolments in vocational centres

Activities:

▪ Conduct awareness about skill-orientated education throughout the Province

▪ Promote the range of courses available in vocational centres to encourage a wide variety of students and adults to undertake vocational training.

▪ Locate relevant courses at appropriate vocational centres.

Strategy Improve gender equity in the TVET system

Activities: � Offer courses which are directed towards female needs � Conduct awareness in primary schools about the value of skills-oriented training offered in vocational centres � Selection of students to be done by the Provincial Education Board in consultation with governing bodies of centres.

Minor Outcome V2 A standardised and accredited curriculum implemented in all institutions; all programs are competency-based and enterprise-driven; quality vocational skills-training programs provides clients with skills that are relevant and required by the community. Currently all curriculum is school-based and not competency-based. The Province will redefine Provincial TVET training programs to reflect the Government’s Medium Term Development Strategy and National Education Plan directives that programs must provide opportunities for the population to participate in both the existing and emerging economic priorities. All programs will be competency- based and enterprise- based. The emerging provincial developments include Frieda Mining, gas and oil drilling in Aitape, oil palm development in Bewani and Amanab, coastal fisheries projects, timber projects in Aitape, Lumi and Amanab and a cashew nut project. Training programs will be streamlined to respond to these developments and curriculum redefined to reflect the competency and entrepreneurial skills development model. Curriculum will be modularised ,parallel to the major courses identified, based on the priorities and needs of the provincial government and its people.

Target V2.1 Standardised and Accredited curriculum in place in vocational centres in the Province by 2009

Relevant and Quality Vocational Curriculum


The type of programs offered will be determined during the rationalisation process .Existing full-time courses in vocational centres will be restructured so that they are of maximum one-year duration. The programs offered in vocational institutions will be both full-time and short term programs.

The Agreement between the Governments of Papua New Guinea and the Republic of Indonesia has paved the way for curriculum to be developed for accreditation of the courses by the Indonesian Education System. The curriculum will consist of Bahasa Indonesia as a course and include courses currently being conducted in the institutions in the province. The courses will allow the students to complete the required subjects before continuing their studies in Indonesian institutions. The assessment will be standardized so that the process of articulation will be effective for the students. Students directly leaving school at grade 8 will be able to take up a special two-year or alternatively a one-year conventional vocational training program, while post grade 10 leavers will be able to take up a one-year post grade 10 program. All full-time courses will be required to include further development of literacy and numeracy skills . The two-year post grade 8 and one-year post grade 10 programs will be accredited by the established guideline of the Department of Education through its higher TVET institutions, as well as through the established National Apprentice and Trade Testing Board guidelines. Where appropriate, credits will be available for short courses within the parameters of the yet to be established National Qualification Framework facilitated by the TVET Division of the Department of Education. However, there will be a major shift towards short-term community based programs. All vocational centres including those specialising in one year programmes will be expected to offer short term community-oriented programmes. These will be of varying lengths and offered at the time and venue appropriate to the communities.

The target group for these programs will be, primarily, the local community. Interested adults and youths will be given opportunity to undergo short skills base courses of their choice in any-one institutions, varying from 1 day to 3 months duration and trade testing. These programs can be accredited through the established National Apprentice and Trade Testing Board guidelines.

Target V2.2 Special PETT courses for Grade Ten students, developed in consultation with the Republic of Indonesia, established in selected vocational centres by 2010

Target V2.3 A two-year course for Grade 8 students will be

established by 2010

Target V2.4 All vocational centres will offer short-term Competency Based courses by 2010


The community and its leaders will determine the kind of courses they wish to undertake, however, all short courses, will be dictated by the respective LLG’s social and economic development priorities. The vocational institutions, while focused on its core business of providing skills education and training, will build links with major stakeholders and institutions to reach a wider community, offering courses in community development and health related education and training. There will be greater consultation with other Government agencies, line divisions and churches and NGOs with a view to greater use of vocational institution facilities. Locally based curriculum development and modularizing of courses will be supported by the Technical Vocational Education Division of the Department of Education and distribution of modularised courses will be done through the Employment Oriented Skills Development Project. The Sandaun Provincial Government will adapt an extension training model by locating short term programs to all Local Level Government satellite Centres. In addition to greater linkages with other government departments and non-government organisations there is also much to be gained through learning from initiatives taken by a number of other major resource developers, if these are to be developed in the province.

Strategies and activities

Strategy Redefine curriculum for all vocational institutions

Activities:

▪ Adapt existing full-time courses for maximum one year duration

▪ Identify, develop and modularise new courses

▪ Review and adapt existing short courses including Skills Training Resource Unit materials

▪ Conduct community development programs in and out of the main campus

▪ Adapt two-year post grade 8 curriculum for Vocational High School

▪ Adapt one-year post grade 10 curriculum for post grade 10 programs

▪ Provide adequate tools and equipment to service specified training programs

▪ Incorporate subjects for accreditation to Republic of Indonesian institutions.

Strategy Develop a culture of self-reliance in vocational centres

Activities:

▪ Include entrepreneurial skills in all training programs

▪ Ensure vocational programs in all vocational institutions are enterprise driven

Strategy Develop a greater understanding between the vocational institutions and other line divisions and agencies

Activities:

▪ Conduct inter-agency meetings at the national, provincial and district levels to foster greater understanding of, and strengthening links with, the vocational institutions

▪ Increase and strengthen links between community and industry

▪ Establish a database of course providers and instructors from various agencies, communities and

Target V2.5 Modularised courses will be offered to Grade 8 and 10

students by 2009


other departments

▪ Develop an awareness program to change public perception of vocational education

Strategy Short-Term Community –Oriented Skills Training conducted throughout the Province

Activities: � Implement National Qualification Framework and Flexible Employment Policy within the Provincial Education Plan 2007 – 2014 � Strengthen the traditional way of living and preserve Sandaun’s cultural heritage through appropriate courses � Conduct programmes for non-school leavers and the community to improve their living standards � Introduce industry-driven short courses for people in the workforce.


Minor Outcome V3 A sufficient number of appropriately trained and qualified instructors and managers deployed within the TVET institutions.. In the process of rationalizing and systematizing vocational centres teachers will be relocated. The process should make provisions of a sufficient number of appropriate trained and qualified Vocational Education instructors and managers to be appointed to each centre. It is anticipated that during the period of the Plan there will be an increase in the number of instructors and managers with appropriate qualifications in teaching and in technical training. During the Plan period, teacher training for instructors will be provided for both male and female instructors. A much wider range of vocational courses will require residential and short course programs to prepare appropriately-qualified teachers and supervisors by:-

▪ Providing the required number of appropriately- trained instructors.

▪ Facilitating professional development and teacher upgrading programs for all vocational staff.

▪ Providing professional development opportunities for Vocational Centre managers.

Strategies and Activities

Strategy Provide appropriate training for vocational centre instructors

Activities:

▪ Carry out a Training Needs Analysis of current instructors in vocational centres

▪ Identify institutions which are able to provide the necessary teacher training or upgrading of training required by instructors

▪ Identify specific training programs for all instructors

Strategy Deploy sufficient and qualified instructors to all TVET institutions

Activities:

▪ Introduce an instructor recruitment policy and system

▪ Liaise with teacher training institutions (teachers’ colleges, UOG, PNGEI) to recruit qualified instructors

Target V3.1 Qualified instructors will be deployed to TVET institutions

during the period of the Plan


▪ Implement the National Flexible Employment Policy to allow resource persons from the private sector and the communities to teach within institutions on short-term engagements.

Strategy Investigate training opportunities for vocational instructors, especially females, in the Republic of Indonesia

Activities:

▪ Liaise with the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia regarding the availability of training courses for female vocational instructors in home economics, tailoring etc in the Republic of Indonesia

Management

Minor Outcome V4

TVET system is both cost-effective and affordable for the Government and all beneficiaries.

The principle of good governance and transparent management of finances and assets in TVET institutions is an essential component of providing an efficient and functional TVET system in the Province.

A first task of management is the development and implementation of an appropriate, affordable and sustainable school fee policy.

The Boards of Management/Governors will determine the levels of school fees including fees for short courses in line with guidelines set by the National and Provincial Education Boards. A greater autonomy will be granted to major church agencies and other capable organisations. This could include the appointment, management and discipline of vocational education instructors. It is expected that this will provide a further catalyst for the shift towards a more community orientated role for the vocational institutions. The position of the vocational centre coordinator will be created so as to coordinate the function of the vocational education. All centres will be deregistered and reclassified during the restructuring process in 2010. The plan will apply Level 7 Vocational Centre structure until a new structure is devised.

The vocational institutions will be reviewed and the feasibility of introducing the Grade 8 Graduate Incentive Scheme. All these graduates will be provided with an incentive for them to enrol at institutions of their choice. This scheme is designed to encourage competition and a shift towards a needs driven system. This could be an approved private provider. This will act as a major catalyst to encourage the vocational centres to make the shift towards offering one year modularised courses and to offer relevant satellite community based courses for the local communities. Financial support for vocational centres will be provided in the form of National and Provincial subsidies to the vocational centres and from the Grade 8 Graduate Incentive Scheme system that will be introduced from 2009. This will be preceded by a study to establish guidelines, to consider all implications, financial and otherwise, and to ensure consistency with the provincial needs.

The duty statements of the vocational centre staff will be amended to reflect the need for innovation, leadership, as well as enterprise education. The number of full-time permanent teachers in vocational centres will be based upon the number of full-time students at a rate of one instructor for 18 students. Further positions will only be approved in accordance with strict criteria as determined by a Position Allocation Committee.

Target V4.1 Affordable and well-managed TVET system in operation by 2014


Provision will be made for the employment of seasonal staff, where appropriate to allow centres the flexibility to be able to offer a wide range of courses. Provincial governments, Local Level Governments and line agencies are expected to support the infrastructure development and maintenance of the centres. Centres will be required to play a major role in undertaking self-reliance activities during the rationalisation process.

Strategies and activities

Strategy Grant greater responsibility to agencies for the management of centres to include the management of teachers.

Activities:

▪ Develop a provincial policy on management of all TVET training providers including private providers.

▪ In consultation with DPM and TVET division, develop a provincial TVET staff job description.

▪ Direct all TVET providers to implement the TVET institution management policy and job description.

Strategy Develop and implement a sustainable, affordable and appropriate school fee policy.

Activities:

▪ Conduct a review to ascertain the viability of a Grade 8 Graduate Incentive Scheme and provincial policy allowing students to enrol at both public and private TVET institutions.

▪ Determine, on an annual basis, the costs of delivering vocational education programs.

Strategy Make efficient and rational use of vocational institution staff.

Activities:

▪ Establish provincial Position Allocation Committee.

▪ Conduct an annual provincial teacher audit and maintain teacher data base.

Strategy Develop a culture of self-reliance in vocational centres.

Activities:

▪ Include entrepreneurial skills in all training programs.

▪ Ensure vocational programs in all vocational institutions are enterprise driven

Strategy Promote the principles of good governance in the administration of vocational institutions.

Activities:

▪ Develop appropriate systems for financial, inventory and asset management.

▪ Review guidelines for vocational centre Boards of Management

▪ Develop plans for individual institutions

Stakeholders Roles and Responsibilities for Technical and Vocational Education and Training

Parents and the Community will be responsible for:

▪ encouraging school leavers to undertake vocational training;

▪ pay the required school fees;

▪ suggesting short courses which will be of benefit to members of the community;

▪ participating in appropriate short courses;

▪ participating in Parents and Citizens activities;

▪ participating in Boards of Management/Governors as and when required. Centre Boards of Management/Governors will be responsible for:

▪ the recommendation of instructors for appointment;

▪ planning, and sourcing funding for, the development of infrastructure and facilities;

▪ the recommendation of parental contribution to school fees annually;

▪ the development, promotion and implementation of short courses ; and

▪ the overall governance of the school.


Local Level Governments (LLG) will be responsible for:

▪ budgeting and allocation of funds for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure and facilities in centres based on request from centres;

▪ the recommendation of topics for short community-oriented short courses to be offered by centres Joint District Planning & Budget Priorities Committee (JDPBPC) will be responsible for:

▪ budgeting and allocation of funds for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure and facilities in centres in the district

District Education Administration will be responsible for: � the preparation and implementation of the annual activity plan for district education; � liaison with LLG and JDPBPC for budget provision for vocational centres; and � the recruitment, placement and supervision of vocational instructors. Provincial Government & Administration will be responsible for: � the preparation, endorsement and monitoring of the implementation of the provincial education plan; � ensuring that there is budgetary allocations for vocational centres in the annual Provincial Education Budget. � seeking donor-funding for major infrastructure development of selected vocational centres; � the maintenance of vocational centres; � the enrolment of students; � the creation of necessary teaching positions in centres; � the appointment of instructors to centres; � identifying types of courses to be offered in centres; and � the development of local curricula National Government & Department of Education will be responsible for: � the payment of instructors’ salaries; � assistance with the vocational teacher training and supervision; � assistance with the development, monitoring and review of the vocational and community-based curriculum; � the provision of opportunities for professional development of teachers

Major Outcome The organisation of the administration of education at the provincial, district and school levels, and its organizational systems and human resources provide an efficient and effective system, delivering appropriate and quality education to all parts of West Sepik Province Changes and improvements to the administration of education particularly at the Provincial Division of Education but also at the district and schools levels are required to achieve the outcomes of the Plan. Areas to be addressed will include structure and organization, staffing problems, the establishment of efficient human resource management and efficient financial management and data coordination.

ADMINISTRATION OF EDUCATION


Organizational Improvement

Minor Outcome A1 The Provincial Division of Education will be restructured in order to strategically respond to changing

conditions and government priorities. The present structure of the Provincial Division of Education was appropriate for the introduction of the Education Reform process, but this started fifteen years ago. The present structure is also incapable of managing the increasingly large amounts of money, in the form of school subsidies, teachers’ leave fares and donor-funding for which the Division is given responsibility. A re-structure should reflect the ability of the Provincial Division of Education to respond effectively to the new demands and expectations which are placed upon it now and for the duration of the period which the Plan embraces.

Strategies and Activities: Strategy Effect a re-structure of the Provincial Division of Education and improve its systems to

make it more efficient and effective in the delivery of its core functions

Activities: � Conduct a review of the organisational capacity of the Division including its structure � Build the capacity of the Division by improving its key organizational systems and practices � Ensure that all essential personnel needed to administer sectors are provided with necessary

accommodation so that they can be located in Vanimo (this particularly applies to the Provincial Elementary Inspections Coordinator who is presently located in Aitape because of shortage of housing in Vanimo

� Ensure that job descriptions for the reclassified positions are comprehensive and allow for designated personnel to be utilised in other tasks within the Division when there are major tasks to be completed by deadlines eg. preparation and distribution of school subsidy payments, resumption of duty forms at the commencement of the school year

� Select personnel for specialist positions who have appropriate formal qualifications in the particular specialist field, such as financial management, accountancy, education planning, and data management.

A suggested re-structure is as follows:

Present Position Grade New Position

Provincial Education Adviser 15 Provincial Education Director

Reform Coordinator 13 a. Abolished – Reform is now implemented b. Reclassification: Superintendent, Planning, Finance & Administration

Target A1.1 The re-structure of the Provincial Division of Education to be completed by 2007


Senior Technical Officer 13 a. Abolished – more specific scope of work now required b.Reclassification: Superintendent, School Operations & Standards;PEB Executive Officer

Appointment Officer 11 Appointment Officer

Provincial InService Training Officer 10 a. Abolished – Inservice Training to be directed by the relevant Inspector b. Reclassification- Data Controller – for schools, teachers, enrollments, examination results

Provincial Materials Supply Officer 10 a. Abolished – Expanded role now required Reclassification – Materials and Examinations Officer

Provincial Elementary Coordinator 10 a. Abolished – the administrative work regarding Elementary sector can be adequately handled by the Provincial Elementary Teacher Training Coordinator(PETTC) and the Provincial Elementary Inspections Coordinator b. Reclassification – Financial Controller (preferably an accountant responsible for overseeing all financial operations)

Provincial Administrative Officer 8 a. Abolished as such (many roles previously handled by PAO now the responsibility of Financial Controller) b. Reclassification – Senior Claims Clerk (with responsibility for Teachers’ Entitlement Claims and Queries)

Senior Payroll Clerk 8 Senior Payroll Clerk (Education)

Payroll Clerk (Education) 6 a. Abolished – only one Payroll Clerk position has been functional for about two years b. Reclassification – School Subsidies and Projects Clerk

Keyboard Operator 6 Keyboard Operator

This re-structure involves no increase in personnel numbers. There is also no change in the number of positions at each grade level so there is no extra financial burden to be met by the Provincial Administration


Figure 2 The hierarchy within the Division is shown in the Flow Chart:

Human Resource Management

Minor Outcome A2

The Provisional Division of Education is staffed by officers who are appropriately-trained and qualified for the positions that they occupy.

The demands of many of the processes presently expected to be performed by the Provincial Division of Education are beyond the capabilities of the personnel occupying positions within the Division.

Provincial Education

Advisor

Gr.15

Superintendent

School Operation &

Standard

Inspections

School operation & In-

service

Appointment

Officer

Gr.11

Secondary Inspector

TVET

Inspector

Guidance Oficer

Senior Inspector

Primary

Material & Examination

Officer

Provincial Elementary

Teacher Training

Coordinator

Provincial Elementary

Inspector

Coordinator

Superintendent

Planning Financing &

Administration

Data Controller

Gr.10

Financial Controller

Gr.10

KBO Gr. 6

PEB Executive Officer

Claims &

Queries Clerk

Subsidies and Provincial

Clerk

Gr.8

Payroll Clerk

Education

Gr.6

Target A2.1 Appointments to positions in the re-structured Provincial Division of Education to be completed and the appointees in place by the start of 2008


After the restructure of the Division is completed, there will be a need to seek personnel from outside the Division to fill most of the specialist positions created in the new structure. It is important that qualified personnel are appointed to positions rather than “re-cycling” unqualified personnel who presently hold positions within the Division with the idea of later re-training these officers to carry out the specialist tasks required of the positions to which they have been appointed. This has been a practice followed previously in the Division and the consequences have not been satisfactory. Unqualified or unsuitable present personnel should be made unattached.

Strategy Ensure that the Provincial Division of Education is staffed by personnel who are

qualified and appropriately-trained for the specialist positions that they occupy

Activities: � Select personnel for specialist positions who have appropriate formal qualifications in the particular specialist field, such as reform curriculum, financial management, accountancy, education planning, and data management;. � Establish a training programme for each officer to ensure that qualifications in the specialist field are kept current; � Institute for each position within the Division a succession policy involving a designated officer of lower current status. � Identify officers with significant leadership potential and seek appropriate leadership training for these officers in addition to any training they receive in their specialist field.

Minor Outcome A3 An appropriate Human Resource Development Policy developed and implemented for personnel involved in the administration of education in the Province

A programme of on-going training of personnel involved in the administration of education at the provincial and district level is essential to ensure that the Province keeps pace with developments in education within the country over the duration of the Plan. There is a need to ensure that an equal opportunities policy is established especially ensuring that women are considered for, and appointed to (if qualified), senior and management positions Most current personnel at provincial and district level require training in Information Technology skills particularly spreadsheet and data-base operations and the use of e-mail. Senior managers require targeted training in order to improve their capacity to lead the organisation in which they are involved.

Strategy Develop and implement an appropriate Human Resource Development Policy for personnel involved in the administration of education at the provincial and district level

Activities: � Conduct a training needs analysis of personnel appointed to positions in the re-structured

Provincial Division of Education and of personnel at the district level � Develop a training programme based on this needs analysis and identify personnel /

institutions to deliver the required training � Ensure the allocation of adequate funding to ensure the viability of this training programme � Provide work-based training for all personnel within the Provincial Division of Education and

District Education Offices

Target A3.1 A Divisional Human Resource Development Policy is in place by 2009


� Provide senior managers of the Provincial Division of Education with targeted training in order to improve their capacity to lead the organisation.

� Incorporate succession training into work-based training after identifying personnel with the potential to carry out tasks at a higher level

� Carry out regular assessments of training needs

Strategy Develop and implement an equal opportunities policy

Activities: � Initiate the formulation of a policy which eliminates discrimination against women and persons from disadvantaged groups (eg. Disabled) � Ensure that women are considered for, and appointed to (if qualified), senior and managerial positions � Identify and support officers from disadvantaged groups suitably qualified for rapid promotion

Strategy Develop and implement a training policy in appropriate IT skills for provincial and district personnel involved in the administration of education

� Conduct a training needs analysis in regard to IT skills for provincial and district personnel involved in the administration of education.

� Identify training personnel/ institutions which are capable of imparting to education personnel appropriate skills in Word, Excel, Access, and e-mail usage

� Identify and allocate funding for the training (including support from donor-agencies such as BEDP)

DIVISIONAL MANAGEMENT

Minor Outcome A4 A management system is established within the Provincial Division of Education in which Provincial and National Officers work together in harmony, cooperation and mutual respect to achieve their common goal of delivering a high standard of service in education throughout the Province.

For the efficient operation of the Provincial Division of Education, a cooperative effort on the part of Provincial and National Officers is essential. This has not always been in evidence in the functioning of the Division as National officers have not always been supported in regard to transportation, clerical facilities and travel assistance. The Division has failed to avail itself fully of the expertise of the National officers who often have the best first-hand knowledge of the actual situations in schools because of their field experience. As within any organisation there are certain periods of high activity where deadlines have to be met. There must be a clear mandate to the Divisional Head to be able to delegate duties and a willingness on the part of officers within the Division to respond positively to directives to perform duties outside their prescribed duty statements in order to assist the Division to meet essential deadlines. Office management systems must replace the ad hoc provisions which presently exist, and so produce a smoothly operational Divisional office Personnel management protocols which are rarely enforced must be defined and demanded in accordance with the Provincial Corporate Plan. Teacher absenteeism is acknowledged in the National Education Plan 2005 -2014 as being “a major problem that impacts on student learning and retention”(p.92). Teacher absenteeism in the Province is second only to the shortage of teachers as the most serious obstacle to the development of education in the Province. Because of the difficult physical geography of the Province and the lack of a functional communication network, teachers are often able to be away from their locations for weeks or months before their absence is brought to the notice of the relevant authorities.

Target A4.1 A comprehensive policy relating to all aspects of the internal management of the Provincial Division of Education is in place by 2008


Strategy Institute and implement a policy within the Provincial Education Office in which Provincial Officers and National Officers co-exist and cooperate in a relationship based on mutual respect and coordinate their efforts to produce effective educational outcomes.

Activities: � Draw up a policy in which Provincial and National officers share equivalent status within the Provincial Education Office in regard to access to Office transportation, clerical personnel, use of facilities such as faxes and photocopiers, and also in regard to travel support. � Implement a policy in which the expertise of both Provincial and National officers is fully utilised in decision-making within the Provincial Education Office

Strategy Enforce the mandate of the Provincial Education Adviser (or delegate) to delegate duties to selected personnel when necessary

Activities: � Ensure the awareness of all personnel within the Provincial Division of Education of the prerogative of the Provincial Education Adviser (or delegate) to delegate duties to selected personnel at crucial or particularly busy times. � Develop within the personnel of the Division a willingness to share duties outside their normal duty statement when delegated by the Provincial Education Adviser (or delegate) in order to ensure the smooth delivery of education services throughout the Province at crucial times

Strategy Draw up and implement a practical, comprehensive and efficient office management system for the Provincial Division of Education

Activities: � Draw up a system which demonstrates that the Office is responsive to teachers and the general public but which utilises effectively the time and the particular expertise of specific members of the Division. � Implement and sustain the system in a consistent and logical manner.

Strategy Ensure compliance with the provisions of the Provincial Corporate Plan in regard to the attendance and behaviour of Office personnel

Activities: � Create awareness among officers of the Division of the provisions of the Provincial Corporate

Plan relating to personnel within the West Sepik Administration. � Demand compliance with the requirements of the Corporate plan by imposing sanctions when

provisions are breached.

Strategy Design and implement a practical system for addressing the problem of teacher absenteeism

Activities: � Ensure that teachers are continually reminded of their professional responsibility to children and of their moral responsibility to the State who pays them a salary � Promote the involvement of Boards of Management/Governors in monitoring teachers’ attendance � Coordinate with the districts to ensure that information relating to teachers’ movements are communicated to the PDoE � Enlist the cooperation of Inspectors to furnish regular reports on teacher absenteeism.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Minor Outcome A5:

Target A4.2 A practical system for addressing the problem of teacher absenteeism is adopted by 2008


Financial Management within the administration of education of the Province will be carried out by qualified personnel and the highest standards of delivery of monies and accountability maintained.

The Financial Management Act provides the standards which are to maintained in the management of government monies. The process of management must be headed by qualified personnel who are trained in financial practices. The proposed re-structure of the Provincial Division of Education must provide for the appointment of such specialists in financial management and the appointees to the crucial positions within the re-structure must possess professional qualifications in this field.

Strategy Establish and sustain the highest possible standards of financial management within the administration of education in the Province.

Activities: � Design the re-structure of the Provincial Division of Education so that the financial management sector of the Division is significantly strengthened � Appoint professionally-qualified personnel to senior positions within the financial management sector of the Division � Ensure awareness of, and compliance with, the Financial Management Act in regard to the handling of public monies

Strategy Ensure that donor-funded projects are managed by a designated officer according to the highest standards of financial management to ensure continuation of donor support.

Activities: � Designate a specific officer to be responsible for donor-funded projects (LDD, BEDP etc) � Ensure that this officer has the necessary skills to manage the operation and reporting of the

project � Ensure that all financial aspects of the projects are monitored or reviewed by an officer with

specialised accountancy skills

DATA COORDINATION

Minor Outcome A6 A comprehensive database of schools and teachers be established in the Provincial Division of Education and annual updates be undertaken

The absence of a functional database has wide and significant implications for teachers and for schools. The most important effect is in regard to enabling reliable planning to occur. Teachers’ records are needed to calculate entitlements and to allocate leave fares. Student enrolments at schools determine such matters as subsidies, allocation of teachers and examination arrangements.

Target A6.1 A comprehensive database of schools and teachers be established in the Provincial Division of Education by 2009.

Target A5.1 Appoint a professionally –qualified personnel to handle project account by 2011


This process requires initially the appointment of an officer with specialist IT skills in database. There needs however to be as well regular and wholehearted assistance and support from the Districts to ensure that data is regularly supplied by schools and forwarded to the Provincial Division of Education.

Strategy Establish and maintain a comprehensive and current database of schools and teachers in the Province

Activities: � Appoint a Data Coordinator with specialised IT skills; � Establish a communication system with the districts which imposes on the districts the

responsibility to ensure that data related to schools and teachers are forwarded to the PDoE on a regular basis;

� Develop a database for schools utilising initially the information compiled by the SIMO office of BEDP and also the 2007 School Census returns;

� Update school records annually by conducting a School Census each year � Develop a database for enrolments utilising initially the 2007 School Census returns; � Undertake the compilation of a database for teachers � Update teacher records annually by requiring teachers to complete the necessary forms at the

start of each year

COMMUNICATION

Minor Outcome A7 Establish and maintain an effective communication network for education in the Province

Strategy Maintain telephone contact with the NDoE and districts where possible

Activities: Establish a strict policy with regard to the use of the telephone for official use only by authorised officers of the Division Implement this policy by ensuring that monitoring is by senior management of the Division

Strategy Utilise the services of Radio Sandaun to provide awareness and news services to teachers and the general public on education matters

Activities: � Establish with Radio Sandaun a policy regarding the allocation of regular sessions to the

Division of Education for education programmes � Designate a suitable number of officers in the Division to coordinate and present radio

programmes � Ensure that all programmes to be presented on Radio Sandaun are approved by the Adviser

(or his delegate) � Utilise part of the allocated programme time as a means of conducting awareness on important

issues � Use regular sessions each week as means of being news items to the attention of teachers,

Boards of Management/Governors etc

Strategy Establish a reliable and efficient system for the transmission of written communication (mail and circulars) between the Provincial Division of Education, districts, schools and teachers

Activities: � Investigate the establishment of a system in which mail for districts and schools from the PDoE

is delivered on at least a fortnightly basis, possibly in association with the delivery of payroll, and mail from districts, schools and teachers for the PDoE is collected at this time.

� Ensure that protocols relating to official correspondence and circulars originating from the PDoE are followed

� Establish office protocols whereby all incoming mail to the PDoE is formally acknowledged

Strategy Ensure that the system of education administration has the flexibility and officers


have the expertise, to adopt and utilise innovations in communication which may become available to the Province

Activities: � Identify and train key officers in techniques such as use of e-mail � Familiarise key officers with the use of innovative technology which may at some time be adopted by the PDoE

TEACHERS’ SALARIES

Minor Outcome A8 A more efficient system of managing teachers’ salaries in the Province be implemented..

Delays in the delivery of teachers’ salaries and in dealing with salary queries are significant factors in dissuading teachers from teaching in the Province and particularly from accepting to remote schools. Implementing changes to the present process should assist in addressing these serious difficulties

Strategy Transfer the Education Payroll from Waigani to the Province by 2009

Activities: Identify and train appropriate staff to manage the Education Payroll in the Province Allocate space within the Division of Education premises to the handling of the Payroll and provide appropriate equipment for the Payroll office Liaise with the National Department of Education to the effect the smooth transfer of the Payroll from Waigani to Vanimo

Strategy Establish a regular, reliable and efficient procedure for delivery of payroll on a fortnightly basis to the districts

Activities: � Liaise with the Provincial Administration to establish, in conjunction with other Divisions, a system for the delivery of payroll to the districts on a fortnightly basis � Ensure the inclusion in the Divisional budget an annual allocation as the Division’s contribution to this service

Target A 8.1 An efficient system of managing teachers’ salaries in the

Province be implemented by 2009.



IMPLEMENTING THE PLANIMPLEMENTING THE PLANIMPLEMENTING THE PLANIMPLEMENTING THE PLAN


The Plan will be implemented over an 8 year period running from 2007 to 2014. An implementation schedule showing each level of education, objectives and strategies with indication of implementation timeframe is shown below. The schedule forms the basis for the implementation of objectives and strategies for a 8 year period, however for effective implementation a Annual Activity Plan & Budget is to be prepared at the end of each year in line with the national and provincial budget cycle.

Key

Indicates a strategy and activity which can be implemented without dependence on the implementation of other strategy or activities.

Indicates a strategy and activity which will depend on effective implementation of other strategy and activity


2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Minor Outcome E1

Adequate elementary schools established at community level in all districts of the Province to enable all 6-year-old children have access to elementary education throughout the province .

Conduct awareness at community level regarding elementary education and the role which the community must play

Conduct local awareness programmes at Provincial, District and LLG levels to inform communities of the role of Elementary education in the overall National Education System

Conduct local awareness programmes to explain the responsibilities of communities in regard to elementary schools

Ensure that communities are aware of the criteria to be met when proposing a new elementary school

Carry out awareness in communities to encourage children to stay in schools

Take complete stock of existing and proposed elementary schools by district throughout the province.

Use quotas from NDoE pertaining to opening of new schools and distribute equitably to all the districts for their implementation;

Seek PEB approval for number of schools to be established every year based on the total approved schools and level of readiness of communities based on the approved criteria.

Prioritise the approval of new elementary schools so that, where possible, preference is given to locations where primary schools have already been established.

Follow up registration of schools which have been applied for to ensure that this registration is granted.

Develop Provincial policy guidelines regarding basic infrastructure required for elementary schools to ensure that buildings and facilities in all schools conform to basic accepted standards

Create awareness in LLGs to budget for infrastructure and maintenance grants annually to support infrastructure development of elementary schools

Provide access to elementary education for children from very remote areas, girls, and children with special needs and improve retention of

SECTION 5 – IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN


children in elementary schooling

Develop a Provincial policy to allow access to elementary schooling by children from very remote areas who may not fulfil certain entry criteria such as age.

Conduct awareness in districts on the importance of schooling with emphasis on the need for girls to be in school.

Conduct awareness in districts on the desirability of educating children with special needs in order to promote the principle of educating all children

Adopt a Provincial enrolment policy consistent with the national policy aimed at improving the retention rate of children in elementary schools

Minor Outcome E2

A relevant and quality elementary curriculum prepared, approved, implemented and monitored

Develop relevant local elementary education curriculum in accordance with the National curriculum framework

Support the formation and define the role of community curriculum development committees.

Provide appropriate technical support for the development of a community-based curriculum

Provide appropriate technical support for the development, production and use of community-based materials

Implement the curriculum and the use of community-based materials

Review the development of the curriculum and the production of local materials

Minor Outcome E3

Sufficient numbers of teachers adequately trained are placed in elementary schools and on-going elementary teacher- training supported and maintained.

Provide the required number of appropriate and adequately-trained teachers in elementary schools throughout the province

Establish guidelines for communities to use for the selection of candidates for teacher training

Submit the short-list of candidates for each school together with the community’s choice for teacher-training to the District Elementary Committee (DEC) and then to the PEB for approval.

Ensure the availability of technical and financial support for teacher-training

Undertake training of teacher-trainees

Appoint trainees to the elementary school in the communities which selected them

Establish guidelines for communities to use for the selection of candidates for teacher training

Minor Outcome E4

Effective management practices make elementary education cost-effective and affordable both for parents and for the government

Establish principles for the efficient management of elementary schools

Determine by consultation between stakeholders the responsibilities of various stakeholders in regard to elementary education.

Ensure the acceptance by various levels of government (Provincial, District, LLG) of their responsibility to make funding provisions on an annual basis for the operation of elementary education

Ensure the establishment of capable Boards of Management and conduct training for these school Boards

Review the procedures for the appointment of Boards of Management members when necessary


Introduce the Elementary School Management Manual/Guide (developed by BEDP)

Conduct workshops for the training of BOM members regarding the functions of the BOM

Ensure an equitable distribution of teaching resources

Allocate teachers based on agreed criteria

Institute policies and practices that ensure the prompt and regular payment of salary to elementary teachers and the processing of back-payments

Ensure that registration of new schools is monitored until it is approved so that teachers are not denied salary payments

Provide special assistance for teachers from remote elementary schools to ensure that their Resumption of Duty forms are lodged promptly and Auto Suspension is avoided

Ensure the availability of necessary documentation to facilitate the processing outstanding salary non-payments and under-payments

PRIMARY EDUCATION 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Minor Outcome P1

Adequate numbers of primary schools in the four districts identified, established and/or improved

Establish and maintain an adequate number of primary schools and phase out community schools

Take complete stock and prepare a report on the existing community and primary schools and proposed primary schools by district and obtain approval from PEB the actual number of community schools to be phased out and adequate number of primary schools to be established and maintained.

Prepare an implementation plan with activities, costing and schedule and seek funding from National Education, donors and Provincial Government for the improvement and/or establishment of approved primary schools.

Implement the improvement and/or establishment of approved primary schools.

Apply and register established schools.

Minor Outcome P2

A relevant primary school curriculum developed and/or adopted, implemented and monitored

Review the implementation of the reform curriculum and develop relevant primary school curriculum and support materials

Carry out a review of the implementation of the reformed curriculum in the province

Develop and adopt relevant curriculum and other support materials for the province.

Training and monitor head teachers in appraisal techniques

Establish school libraries to stock materials that support and complement curriculum

Prepare project submission for the establishment of libraries and obtain funding

Establish school libraries and supply books and materials

Establish greater community involvement in the management of schools

Establish a system which will involve the community and head teacher in the appraisal of teachers

Ensure greater community participation in the management of schools.

Minor Outcome P3

Sufficient appropriately-trained and qualified teachers identified and placed in primary schools

Develop and implement a Remote Schools Teacher Incentive Policy

Carry out a study to determine incentives to attract and retain teachers in remote schools and prepare a report.


Prepare and seek approval of a Remote Schools Teacher Incentive Policy

Implement and monitor the policy

Train and place required number of teachers with Diploma in Primary School Teaching

Conduct teacher supply and demand survey and prepare project submission for financial and other resource support.

Upgrade training of all teachers who are certificate holders and teaching in primary schools and place them back to school of their tenure.

Train new teachers at diploma level and place them where required

Train Head Teachers in School Administration & Management

Prepare project submission and identify and secure funding and other resources.

Prepare training plan

Conduct training

Minor Outcome P4

An efficient and effective primary education management system established and managed

Prepare, adopt and implement specific policies for sustainable primary education services in the Province

Carry out a study and prepare specific policies dealing with:

• the process and criteria for establishing a primary school;

• the process and criteria to acquire and distribute basic school materials;

• the process and criteria to award teachers special incentives to retain them in remote schools;

• the process and criteria to identify and provide annual budgetary support for development and maintenance to school infrastructure and facilities.

Prepare and obtain approval from PEB, LLG Assemblies, JDPBPCs and PEC the policies for sustainable primary education services.

Implement the policies by districts


SECONDARY EDUCATION 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Minor Outcome S1

Adequate and appropriate number of secondary schools in locations throughout the province established, equipped and supported to make secondary education accessible to all academically-capable students

Establish and maintain adequate number of secondary schools in the secondary sector.

Survey and analyse the present situation in upper and lower secondary education in the Province;

Establish or maintain sufficient secondary schools to ensure that the transition rate from Grade 10 to Grade 11 does not fall below 25%;

Ensure that there are sufficient schools providing lower secondary (Grades 9 and 10) places so that the transition rate from Grade 8 to Grade 9 does not drop below 50%

Retain Grades 7 and 8 in sufficient high schools to ensure that children from remote areas have an opportunity of accessing Grade 7 and 8 education.

Ensure the availability of sufficient places for girls in Grades 11 and 12 in secondary schools

Improve retention of children in secondary schooling

Develop provincial policies with specific strategies to improve retention;

Conduct awareness in districts on the importance of schooling with emphasis on the value of girls receiving secondary education

Review the provincial enrolment policy to address the issues gender equity, enrolment, attendance, re-entry, and repeating grades

Provide support to remote schools

Carry out a survey to identify requirements for assistance to remote schools.

Develop and present to the National Department of Education a proposed Remote Schools Teacher Incentive Package aimed at attracting and retaining teachers in remote schools - to include increased annual Disadvantaged School allowance, approval for annual leave fares, and promotion incentives for a set number of years service in a remote school.

Develop provincial incentives for teachers to serve in remote areas such as minimum standards of teacher housing, and subsidised travel costs


Minor Outcome S2

A relevant secondary curriculum developed and/or adopted, implemented and monitored.

Ensure that all secondary schools are adequately supplied with all relevant curriculum materials

Inspectors ensure that schools are aware of current curricula and curriculum materials in all subjects.

School boards of governors approve funding for the purchase or reprinting of relevant curriculum materials.

Develop and implement school-based curriculum

Carry out assessment of community –based knowledge and skills which could have potential as the basis for a locally-based curriculum.

Develop and implement locally-based curriculum in each school

Establish school libraries to stock materials that support and complement curriculum

Prepare project submissions to obtain funding for the establishment of libraries

Establish training programmes for teacher-librarians

Minor Outcome S3

Sufficient appropriately-trained teachers identified and deployed in secondary schools throughout the Province

Recruit and deploy required number of teachers with appropriate qualifications in secondary institutions

Identify teacher demand based on subject needs on an annual basis;

Undertake recruitment of graduates from University of Goroka, PAU and other possible institutions by visits or by advertisements to the institutions;

Upgrade qualifications of interested teachers with appropriate training and then reappoint them to school of their tenure.

Recruit teachers in specialist subjects for schools

Pursue means of recruiting specialist English teachers for all schools in the Province

Pursue means of recruitment of teachers of secondary mathematics and science

Provide professional development opportunities for School Principals/Head teachers

Provide financial management and leadership training for school principals and head teachers

Minor Outcome S4

An efficient and effective secondary education management system established and managed.

Establish principles for the efficient management of secondary schools

Establish by consultation between stakeholders the roles of head teachers

Ensure the acceptance by various levels of government (Provincial

Ensure the establishment of capable Boards of Governors and conduct training for these school


Boards . Review the procedures for the appointment of Boards of Governors members when necessary

Conduct workshops where necessary at district level to train BOGs in their responsibilities

Develop and implement a sustainable, affordable and appropriate provincial school fee subsidy policy

Develop a formula to distribute the provincial component of the Education Functional Grant as school fees subsidies to schools in the secondary sector

Ascertain realistic and affordable levels of parental contributions for both rural and urban schools;

Reduce the burden of school fees on parents through the encouragement of self-reliance activities at the school level

Ensure efficient use and equitable distribution of teaching resources

Apply an approved set of criteria for the deployment of teachers to all districts in the Province

Develop and implement a set of criteria for teacher deployment to all schools in the Province especially those in the rural areas.

Institute policies and practices that ensure the prompt and regular payment of salary to primary teachers and the processing of back-payments and claims

Negotiate with the Provincial Administration and other Divisions of the Administration for the establishment of a regular delivery service for teachers’ pays

Provide special assistance for teachers from remote secondary schools to ensure that their Resumption of Duty forms are lodged promptly and Auto Suspension is avoided;

Ensure the availability of necessary documentation to facilitate the processing outstanding salary non-payments, under-payments and other claims


FLEXIBLE, OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATION 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Minor Outcome FODE 1

A significant increase in enrolment in FODE courses achieved.

Conduct awareness on education services available through FODE

Conduct provincial awareness on education services available through FODE

Liaise with formal education providers about FODE opportunities available for school leavers

Increase the number of study facilities throughout the Province

Identify potential training facilities for FODE in each district

Seek commitment from the Provincial Government to fund infrastructure development for FODE centres in each district

Establish the Sandaun Centre for Learning in Vanimo

Follow up the PIP submission and secure funding for construction of the Centre


The curriculum and assessment programs offered will be based on, and articulate with, the mainstream education system (NEP 2005 – 2014)

Adopt and Implement National FODE Curriculum and Other Value-Added Programs

Ensure that the relevant curriculum is readily available at the Provincial FODE Centre

Distribute curriculum materials to FODE providers promptly

Develop and deliver other value-added programs based on needs and demand of local area.

Evaluate implementation of national curriculum and provide feed back on timely basis


Sufficient appropriately qualified staff and personnel recruited and placed

Provide manpower for the FODE system by establishing a system of financial support at Provincial level for FODE instructors and markers

Carry out a staff needs and requirements survey for existing and proposed FODE centres.

Develop a proposal for the Provincial Government in relation to providing financial support for FODE instructors and markers


Provincial institutions offering Flexible, Open and Distance Education


established and managed Liaise with National FODE Headquarters and restructure the Provincial FODE establishment

Negotiate a Memorandum of Agreement between the Sandaun Provincial Government and FODE and have this MOQA signed

Establish District FODE Centres

Obtain Provincial Government commitment to provide financial support for the administration of the FODE system in the Province

TECHNICAL VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Minor Outcome V 1 2007 2008 2009 2010

2011

2012 2013 2014

Adequate number of TVET institutions established throughout the Province

Ensure appropriate number of vocational centres in all districts in the Province

Review the status of vocational centres in the province

implement the PEB decision regarding the identification of five major vocational centres in the Province

Establish a framework for effective satellite centres administered from the main centres.

Expand, or provide maintenance for, infrastructure in vocational centres throughout the Province

Identify the needs in terms of building maintenance and equipment of vocational centres in the Province.

Secure funding from donor partners to expand or maintain vocational centres in every district.

Increase enrolments in vocational centres

Conduct awareness about skill-orientated education throughout the Province

Promote the range of courses available in vocational centres to encourage a wide variety of students and adults to undertake vocational training.

Locate relevant courses at appropriate vocational centres.

Improve gender equity in the TVET system

Offer courses which are directed towards female needs

Conduct awareness in primary schools about the value of skills-oriented training offered in vocational centres

Selection of students to be done by the Provincial Education Board in consultation with governing bodies of centres

Minor Outcome V 2

A standardised and accredited curriculum implemented in all institutions; all programs are competency-based and enterprise-driven; quality vocational skills-training programs provides clients with skills that are relevant and required by the community

Redefine curriculum for all vocational


institutions Adapt existing full-time courses for maximum one year duration

Identify, develop and modularise new courses

Review and adapt existing short courses including Skills Training Resource Unit materials

Conduct community development programs in and out of the main campus

Adapt two-year post grade 8 curriculum for Vocational High School

Adapt one-year post grade 10 curriculum for post grade 10 programs

Provide adequate tools and equipment to service specified training programs

Incorporate subjects for accreditation to Republic of Indonesian institutions.

Adapt existing full-time courses for maximum one year duration

Develop a culture of self-reliance in vocational centres

Include entrepreneurial skills in all training programs

Ensure vocational programs in all vocational institutions are enterprise driven

Develop a greater understanding between the vocational institutions and other line division and agencies

Conduct inter-agency meetings at the national, provincial and district levels to foster greater understanding of, and strengthen links with, the vocational institutions

Increase and strengthen links between community and industry

Establish a database of courses providers and instructors from various agencies, communities and other departments

Develop an awareness program to change public perception of vocational education

Short-Term Community –Oriented Skills Training conducted throughout the Province

Implement National Qualification Framework and Flexible Employment Policy within the Provincial Education Plan 2007 – 2014

Strengthen the traditional way of living and preserve Sandaun’s cultural heritage through appropriate courses

Conduct programmes for non-school leavers and the community to improve their living standards

Introduce industry-driven short courses for people in the workforce.

Minor Outcome V3

A sufficient number of appropriately trained and qualified instructors and managers deployed within the TVET institutions.

Provide appropriate training for vocational centre instructors

Carry out a Training Needs Analysis of current instructors in vocational centres

Identify institutions which are able to provide


the necessary teacher training or upgrading of training required by instructors

Identify specific training programs for all instructors

Deploy sufficient and qualified instructors to all TVET institutions

Introduce an instructor recruitment policy and system

Liaise with teacher training institutions (teachers’ colleges, UOG, PNGEI) to recruit qualified instructors

Implement the National Flexible Employment Policy to allow resource persons from the private sector and the communities to teach within institutions on short-term engagements.

Investigate training opportunities for vocational instructors, especially females, in the Republic of Indonesia

Liaise with the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia regarding the availability of training courses for female vocational instructors in home economics, tailoring etc in the Republic of Indonesia

Minor Outcome V4

TVET system is both cost-effective and affordable for the Government and all beneficiaries

Grant greater responsibility to agencies for the management of centres to include the management of teachers.

Develop a provincial policy on management of all TVET training providers including private providers.

In consultation with DPM and TVET division, develop a provincial TVET staff job description.

Direct all TVET providers to implement the TVET institution management policy and job description.

Develop and implement a sustainable, affordable and appropriate school fee policy.

Conduct a review to ascertain the viability of a Grade 8 Graduate Incentive Scheme and provincial policy allowing students to enrol at both public and private TVET institutions.

Determine, on an annual basis, the costs of delivering vocational education programs.

Make efficient and rational use of vocational institution staff.

Establish provincial Position Allocation Committee.

Conduct an annual provincial teacher audit and maintain teacher data base

Develop a culture of self-reliance in vocational centres.

Include entrepreneurial skills in all training programs.

Ensure vocational programs in all vocational institutions are enterprise driven

Promote the principles of good governance in the administration of vocational institutions

Develop appropriate systems for financial,


inventory and asset management.

Review guidelines for vocational centre Boards of Management

ADMINISTRATION OF EDUCATION STRATEGIES 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Minor Outcome A1

The Provincial Division of Education will be restructured in order to strategically respond to changing conditions and

government priorities.

Effect a re-structure of the Provincial Division of Education and improve its systems to make it more efficient and effective in the delivery of its core functions

Conduct a review of the organisational capacity of the Division including its structure

Build the capacity of the Division by improving its key organizational systems and practices

Ensure that all essential personnel needed to administer sectors are provided with necessary accommodation so that they can be located in Vanimo .

Minor Outcome A2

An appropriate Human Resource Development Policy developed and implemented for personnel involved in the administration of education in the Province

Ensure that the Provincial Division of Education is staffed by personnel who are qualified and appropriately-trained for the specialist positions that they occupy

Select personnel for specialist positions who have appropriate formal qualifications in the particular specialist field, such as reform curriculum, financial management, accountancy, education planning, and data management;.

Establish a training programme for each officer to ensure that qualifications in the specialist field are kept current;

Institute for each position within the Division a succession policy involving a designated officer of lower current status.

Identify officers with significant leadership potential and seek appropriate leadership training for these officers in addition to any training they receive in their specialist field

Minor Outcome A3


Develop and implement an appropriate


Human Resource Development Policy for personnel involved in the administration of education at the provincial and district level

Conduct a training needs analysis of personnel appointed to positions in the re-structured Provincial Division of Education and of personnel at the district level

Develop a training programme based on this needs analysis and identify personnel / institutions to deliver the required training

Ensure the allocation of adequate funding to ensure the viability of this training programme

Provide work-based training for all personnel within the Provincial Division of Education and District Education Offices

Provide senior managers of the Provincial Division of Education with targeted training in order to improve their capacity to lead the organisation.

Incorporate succession training into work-based training after identifying personnel with the potential to carry out tasks at a higher level

Carry out regular assessments of training needs

Minor Outcome A4

A management system is established within the Provincial Division of Education in which Provincial and National Officers work together in harmony, cooperation and mutual respect to achieve their common goal of delivering a high standard of service in education throughout the Province

�

Institute and implement a policy within the Provincial Education Office in which Provincial Officers and National Officers co-exist and cooperate .

Draw up a policy in which Provincial and National officers share equivalent status within the Provincial Education Office .

Implement a policy in which the expertise of both Provincial and National officers is fully utilised in decision-making within the Provincial Education Office

Enforce the mandate of the Provincial Education Adviser (or delegate) to delegate duties to selected personnel when necessary

Draw up a system which demonstrates that the Office is responsive to teachers and the general public but which utilises effectively the time and the particular expertise of specific members of the Division.

Implement and sustain the system in a consistent and logical manner.

Draw up and implement a practical, comprehensive and efficient office management system for the Provincial Division of Education

Draw up a system which demonstrates that the


Office is responsive to teachers and the general public but which utilises effectively the time and the particular expertise of specific members of the Division.

Implement and sustain the system in a consistent and logical manner.

Ensure compliance with the provisions of the Provincial Corporate Plan in regard to the attendance and behaviour of Office personnel

Create awareness among officers of the Division of the provisions of the Provincial Corporate Plan relating to personnel within the West Sepik Administration.

Demand compliance with the requirements of the Corporate plan by imposing sanctions when provisions are breached.

Design and implement a practical system for addressing the problem of teacher absenteeism

Ensure that teachers are continually reminded of their professional responsibility to children and of their moral responsibility to the State who pays them a salary

Promote the involvement of Boards of Management/Governors in monitoring teachers’ attendance

Coordinate with the districts to ensure that information relating to teachers’ movements are communicated to the PDoE

Enlist the cooperation of Inspectors to furnish regular reports on teacher absenteeism

Minor Outcome A5

Financial Management within the administration of education of the Province will be carried out by qualified personnel and the highest standards of delivery of monies and accountability maintained.

Establish and sustain the highest possible standards of financial management within the administration of education in the Province

Design the re-structure of the Provincial Division of Education so that the financial management sector of the Division is significantly strengthened

Appoint professionally-qualified personnel to senior positions within the financial management sector of the Division

Ensure awareness of, and compliance with, the Financial Management Act in regard to the handling of public monies

Ensure that donor-funded projects are managed by a designated officer according to the highest standards of financial management to ensure continuation of donor support.

Designate a specific officer to be responsible for donor-funded projects (LDD, BEDP etc)

Ensure that this officer has the necessary skills to manage the operation and reporting of the project

Ensure that all financial aspects of the projects are monitored or reviewed by an officer with specialised accountancy skills


Minor Outcome A6

A comprehensive database of schools and teachers be established in the Provincial Division of Education and annual updates be undertaken

Establish and maintain a comprehensive and current database of schools and teachers in the Province

Appoint a Data Coordinator with specialised IT skills;

Establish a communication system with the districts which imposes on the districts the responsibility to ensure that data related to schools and teachers are forwarded to the PDoE on a regular basis;

Develop a database for schools utilising initially the information compiled by the SIMO office of BEDP and also the 2007 School Census returns;

Update school records annually by conducting a School Census each year

Develop a database for enrolments utilising initially the 2007 School Census returns;

Undertake the compilation of a database for teachers

Update teacher records annually by requiring teachers to complete the necessary forms at the start of each year

Minor Outcome A7

Establish and maintain an effective communication network for education in the Province

Maintain telephone contact with the NDoE and districts where possible

Establish a strict policy with regard to the use of the telephone for official use only by authorised officers of the Division

Implement this policy by ensuring that monitoring is by senior management of the Division

Utilise the services of Radio Sandaun to provide awareness and news services to teachers and the general public on education matters

Establish with Radio Sandaun a policy regarding the allocation of regular sessions to the Division of Education for education programmes

Designate a suitable number of officers in the Division to coordinate and present radio programmes

Ensure that all programmes to be presented on Radio Sandaun are approved by the Adviser (or his delegate)

Utilise part of the allocated programme time as a means of conducting awareness on important issues

Use regular sessions each week as means of being news items to the attention of teachers,


Boards of Management/Governors etc Establish a reliable and efficient system for the transmission of written communication (mail and circulars) between the Provincial Division of Education, districts, schools and teachers

Investigate the establishment of a system in which mail for districts and schools from the PDoE is delivered on at least a fortnightly basis, possibly in association with the delivery of payroll, and mail from districts, schools and teachers for the PDoE is collected at this time.

Ensure that protocols relating to official correspondence and circulars originating from the PDoE are followed

Establish office protocols whereby all incoming mail to the PDoE is formally acknowledged

Ensure that the system of education administration has the flexibility and officers have the expertise, to adopt and utilise innovations in communication which may become available to the Province

Identify and train key officers in techniques such as use of e-mail

Familiarise key officers with the use of innovative technology which may at some time be adopted by the PDoE

Minor Outcome A8

A more efficient system of managing teachers’ salaries in the Province be implemented by 2009.

Transfer the Education Payroll from Waigani to the Province by 2009

Identify and train appropriate staff to manage the Education Payroll in the Province

Allocate space within the Division of Education premises to the handling of the Payroll and provide appropriate equipment for the Payroll office

Liaise with the National Department of Education to the effect the smooth transfer of the Payroll from Waigani to Vanimo

Establish a regular, reliable and efficient procedure for delivery of payroll on a fortnightly basis to the districts

Liaise with the Provincial Administration to establish, in conjunction with other Divisions, a system for the delivery of payroll to the districts on a fortnightly basis

Ensure the inclusion in the Divisional budget an annual allocation as the Division’s contribution to this service



FINANCING THE PLANFINANCING THE PLANFINANCING THE PLANFINANCING THE PLAN


SECTION 6 – FINANCING THE PLAN

Introduction

The National Education Plan 2005 – 2014 (p.113) states:

The education system has gone through a remarkable period of expansion since 1995. This has largely been achieved, despite only minimal increases in funding, through the introduction of the elementary schools……The Department of Education’s recurrent budget has remained basically the same in real terms over the last ten years. Salaries and personal emoluments now take up approximately 85 per cent of the appropriation after school subsidies have been taken out. This has meant that the Department of Education has not been able to fund core activities in recent years, such as inspectors’ visits to schools or teacher pre-service or in-service training.”

What this says in essence is that the National Department of Education has emphasised quantity in regard to education services, but has not been able to ensure support for quality at the same time.

The effects of these policies have been significant in Sandaun Province. Where some other provinces have had the financial capability to compensate for the NDoE’s lack of financial support in key areas such as teacher training and teacher in-service training, this has not been the case in this Province. A few local communities have managed to fund the training of teachers for their own areas but there has been an annual shortage of 200 – 250 teachers in the Province mainly in the primary sector. Where Inspectors’ visits to schools have taken place it has been largely because of funding supplied through the Basic Education Development Project, funded by AusAID. Education services have been extended only slowly to the most remote parts of the Province because the costs involved in supporting schools (with school materials, freighting of building materials) in such areas are very expensive, and the costs involved in supporting teachers in such schools are so high that teachers are reluctant to accept postings in such remote areas. The National Economic and Fiscal Commission (NEFC), in listing the 89 districts in Papua New Guinea in order of the availability of essential services, placed the four districts of West Sepik Province in the last four places – the least developed districts of Papua New Guinea. Telefomin is the least-developed district of PNG; Nuku District is listed at 88; then Vanimo-Green District and Aitape-Lumi District at eighty-sixth place.

This Provincial Education Plan –Empowering every Sandaun child – challenges the Province to provide quality and appropriate education (“to empower”) throughout the Province, even the most remote parts (“every Sandaun child”). The further implication is that there should be, as far as possible, equitable distribution of education services as far as quality is concerned throughout the Province. . The realisation of the aim embodied in the title of the Plan represents a very demanding challenge to the Province from a financial point of view.

The cost of providing education to the people of Sandaun Province has never been clarified and quantified.

It is illuminating however to refer to a table (Table 00) derived from studies by the National Economic and Fiscal Commission (NEFC) in 2005 regarding the abilities of various provinces in Papua New Guinea to deliver essential services to their people.

The NEFC studies highlighted how provinces differed significantly in the extent to which they can generate revenue within their own resources to meet the costs of service delivery. The results showed that in regard to meeting the cost of service delivery from their own resources the situation in provinces varied from 134% in Enga Province to 20% in West Sepik Province.The conclusion arrived at from these figures was that while Enga (and National Capital District, New Ireland Province, Southern Highlands Province, Western Province and Morobe Province) can more than adequately fund the cost of delivering the services for which they are responsible from their own (existing) revenue bases, provinces such as West Sepik Province (and Simbu, Central, Manus and East Sepik Province) have revenue bases which generate less than one-third (and in the case of WSP actually one-fifth) of the cost of delivering the services which the Organic Law on Provincial and


Local-level Governments mandates them to deliver. Education, of course, is a significant part of these essential services.

Table 30 Provincial capacities to deliver essential services (from NEFC, 2005)

Province Recurrent Costs (K) per head

Recurrent Revenues (K) per head

Revenue Rank

% of costs met

% costs met Rank

Enga 64 86 4 134 1

NCD 207 269 1 130 2

NIP 101 123 3 122 3

SHP 47 53 10 112 4

Western 178 192 2 108 5

Morobe 60 63 7 105 6

WNB 71 58 8 82 7

ARoB 98 75 5 78 8

ENB 89 66 6 75 9

WHP 56 37 14 68 10

Madang 65 40 11 62 11

EHP 58 30 17 52 12

Gulf 94 38 12 41 13

MBP 89 37 13 41 14

Northern 75 30 16 41 15

ESP 90 28 18 32 16

Manus 180 55 9 30 17

Central 113 33 15 29 18

Simbu 68 19 20 29 19

WSP 124 25 19 20 20

Total 1927 1357 210 70 210

Rising costs especially of diesel and aviation fuel have risen greatly over the past two years exacerbating the costs of delivering services to remote areas. The deterioration in airline services in the Province has meant that regular passenger services operate to very few centres even from the Provincial capital. Most airlines operate on a charter basis which has led to an escalation of freight costs.


It is difficult to estimate or project costs for an eight year period. Much will depend on the development of essential infrastructure such as roads and bridges which will greatly reduce costs of travel/transfer for teachers, and delivery/freight costs for building materials and school materials On the other hand, it is difficult to predict the potential revenue which may be generated in the Province over the period of the Plan. Some revenue-producing projects, such as Oil Palm, are established. Projects such as Frieda Copper will not be operational until 2012 if indeed the company involved decides to proceed. There are possible Oil and Gas projects in Telefomin and Aitape but these will not generate revenue for the Province in the near future. It would appear then that over the period of the Plan, the Provincial Government will be limited mainly to financing those recurrent items for which it is presently responsible. Because of the lack of revenue-generation in the Province, the Provincial Government will be unable to be a major contributor to financing any major new developments in education recommended in the Plan. Other sources of finance will have to be found for such development

Costs of the Plan The financing of the Plan will come from a variety of sources:

• National Government

• Provincial Government

• Local-level governments

• Church agencies

• Communities

• Parents Donor funding will be used to complement the funding provided by these sources.

• NATIONAL GOVERNMENT COSTS The National Government will be responsible for the payment of o teachers’ salaries and emoluments; o teachers’ leave fares; and o school subsidies o Teachers’ Salaries: The largest part of the National Department of Education budget is devoted to the payment of teachers’ salaries and emoluments. The National Education Plan 2005-2014 (NEP) indicates that cost-effective measures will be implemented to reduce the costs involved in this area. Two of the specific sectors which arte noted are noted are as follows: � allocating teachers at one per grade in the upper primary grades; � the reduction of class-teachers ratios in upper secondary. Average class sizes have been set at 30 for Elementary, 45 for Grade 1, 40 for Grade 3, 35 for Grade 7, 42 for Grade 9 and 30 for Grade 11. These figures were established to produce cost-effectiveness, while retaining feasible targets for schools and also maintaining standards in schools without compromising quality of education. Allocations for Teachers’ Salaries over the period 2003 -2007 are shown in the following table : Table 31 Teachers’ Salaries (TSC) 2003 -2007 (in Kina) 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

12,849,400 12,647,400 12,879,200 18,085,100 18,842,600

This table, which is accurately complied from Sandaun Provincial Budget records, gives a confusing picture regarding the development of education in the Province. However it would seem that the figures of 2006 and 2007 provide a reasonably accurate basis from which to develop future projections.


The average elementary school teacher’s salary will continue to rise as a greater proportion of teachers become registered. The National Department of Education will impose greater control over the allocation of teaching resources through the formation of a Position Allocation Committee, with representation from the Department of Education, Department of Treasury, the Teaching Service Commission and the provinces. This group will be responsible for: � determining criteria for the allocation of teachers; � annually allocating the number of positions for each province to be based on agreed criteria. Nevertheless an increase in the payments for teachers can be expected during the period of the Plan reflecting the growing numbers of teachers required to achieve planned targets. This is shown in the following table: Table 32 Teachers’ Salaries (TSC) selected years 2007 – 2014 (K) 2007 2010 2014

18,842,600 21,983,033 25,646,868 o Teachers’ Leave Fares

Teachers’ Leave Fares will also continue to be a major cost to the National Department of Education. Allocations for teachers’ leave fares over the period 2003 – 2007 are shown in the following table: Table 33 Teachers’ Leave Fares 2003 – 2007 (in Kina) 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

732,400 732,400 732,400 912,000 865,600

The 2006 allocation was a “one-off” increase to attempt to address outstanding leave fares resulting from the static allocations over the period 2003 – 2005. However allocations for Teachers’ Leave Fares will increase over the period of the Plan unless there is significant infrastructure development in the Province in the form of roads and bridges. While the main form of travel for teachers in the Province remains air travel , and fuel costs continue to spiral, continuous increases in the costs of Teachers’ Leave Fares can be assured. Projections for Leave Fares for the period of the Plan are as follows:

Table 34 Teachers’ Leave Fares - selected years 2007 -2014 (K)

2007 2010 2014

865,600 945,000 1,035,000

o School Subsidies

The NEP makes clear that the allocation of school subsidies by the Department of Education will reflect the government’s priority for Basic Education. School subsidies are provided by the Department of Education in first and third quarters, and by the Provincial Government in second and fourth quarters (from the Education function grant allocated to the Provincial Division of Education). The National Education Plan outlines the policies to be followed as far as the School Subsidies from the Department of Education are concerned: There will be much greater support for children in the elementary schools. Parents will be required to make greater contributions for the education of their children in the secondary schools. The shifts which will take place in regard to the allocation of subsidies at the National level are as follows: o An incremental increase in the allocation to children attending Prep to Grade 2 classes as a prerequisite to

the availability of education for all 6-year olds from 2012; o Constant subsidy levels for those in Grades 3 to 5; o Reductions in allocations to Grade 6 to 8 students in recognition of the fact that these are primary school

classes


o Constant subsidies for secondary school students with no added subsidies for boarding students o The introduction of a Grade 8 Graduate Incentive Scheme for all Grade 8 graduates. The funding made

available under this scheme will be redeemable at any approved post porimary education or training institution. It will replace subsidies previously allocated to Grade 9 secondary school students, vocational centres and College of Distance Education.

o The allocation of scholarships for ten per cent of students in lower secondary education.

• PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT COSTS The Provincial Government will be responsible for the following costs: o Post-primary education o Division of Education Administration o School subsidies o Post-Primary education The Sandaun Provincial Government is responsible for all aspects of post-primary education. These include the following: � the maintenance of secondary schools and vocational institutions � New infrastructure requirements for secondary schools Estimates for funding post-primary education are based on the following generally- accepted cost assumptions:

� New Grade 9 classes : K500,000 for each new class � New Grade 11 classes: K750,000 for each new class � Secondary school maintenance : K5,000-K10,000 per class per annum � Vocational Centre maintenance: case by case evaluation of individual centres

It should be noted that the cost involved in expanding Saint Ignatius High School to secondary status (with four streams proposed for each of Grades 11 and 12) was K9 million in 2000-2001. This involved the conversion of a fairly well-maintained and equipped high school to secondary status, certainly not the establishment of a new institution. (This funding was of course provided by AusAID). It is significant to note that a similar expansion carried out (at AusAID expense) at Mercy Secondary School, Yarapos, East Sepik Province also cost in the region of K9 million. The perception then that Grade 11 expansion of an existing high school to enrol two Grade 11 classes could be achieved for K1.5 million (K750,000 per class) is probably a significant under-estimation of the likely real cost. The minimum cost which could be expected for such a two-stream institution would be K5 million. Oksapmin High School (proposed as a Grade 9 – 10 provincial high school) opened in 2007 with three Grade 9 classes. The approval by the PEB and subsequently the Provincial Executive Council (PEC) was given because the funding for this school was guaranteed by a donor (Ok Tedi Tax Credit Scheme). An amount of K23 million was mentioned as the cost of establishing the school. Actual funding by the donor will not commence until 2008 however and the last phase of the development of the school will be completed in 2012. In the meantime the school has opened in mostly bush material buildings belonging to Tekin Primary School with materials funded by the Baptist Church Agency responsible for the school. The only Government contribution to the establishment of the school has been some support from the Telefomin District Administration. The Provincial Government provided K10,000 annual maintenance grants for high schools and secondary schools in the Annual Sandaun Provincial Government Budget in 2005 and 2006. This allocation was however excluded in 2007. When the general annual figure for secondary school maintenance is considered (K5,000 – K10,000 per class per annum) it can be appreciated that the figure of K10,000 per school annually was totally inadequate. The fact that even this amount was deleted from the 2007 Budget is a matter of major concern that the Provincial Government must address. Certain high/secondary schools (Aitape, Lumi) applied for Public Investment Program (PIP) funding for 2007 and received this funding. Seeking this type of funding is essential for all high schools and secondary schools. The inability of the Provincial Government to be able to provide the funding to cover its responsibilities in regard to the education sector has been highlighted.


Reference to the 2006 Provincial Government Budget illustrates this fact very clearly. Out of a total budget of approximately K36 million, the following allocations were made to education: o Teachers’ Salaries K18,085,100 o Teachers’ Leave fares K932,000 o Education Function Grant K819,200 It can be seen from these actual figures that about 55% of the Sandaun Provincial Government Budget is already being allocated to Education. It is probably unreasonable to expect that this percentage could be increased at the expense of other services. The need to seek funding from donor agencies or other sources (eg PIP) for infrastructure development and for maintenance of post-primary institutions in the Province is therefore a necessity, and poses a challenge to individual institutions to prepare proper submissions to access funding of this nature. The detailed submissions for such requests for funding must originate in the individual schools. o Division of Education Administration The Provincial Government is responsible for the administration of the education system in the Province. This means that administration costs for the Provincial Division of Education office and District Education offices must be met. The costs of the Provincial Education Office encompass the following:

i. Travel for Adviser, Provincial officers and also for Inspectors ii. Utilities iii. Office administration expenses (stationery, maintenance of equipment, transport and fuel etc) iv. Operations of the Provincial Education Board v. Conduct of National examinations vi. Training and Workshops

The administration costs of the Provincial Division of Education are detailed in the following table:

Table 35 Provincial Division of Education Administration costs 2004 – 2007 (in Kina)

2004 2005 2006 2007

82,000 89,400 154,200 188,400

These figures do not include administration costs for the four District Education Offices which have remained unchanged at K20,400 for the last four years. Projected costs for the operations of the Provincial Division of Education are difficult to predict because of policy initiatives which will shift much more responsibility to the Districts. Projected costs for the period of the Plan are shown in the following table:

Table 36 Projected administration costs PDoE 2007 – 2014 (in Kina)

2007 2010 2014

188,400 216,600 259,200

If administration grants are not provided directly to the Districts, then a greater allocation of funding from the Provincial Division of Education will be necessary for Districts to carry out their administration functions efficiently. o School Subsidies (Provincial component) Provincial Government subsidies for schools were budgeted under a specific vote until 2004. Since then Education has received a Function Grant which is then allocated to Provincial and District administration costs and to school subsidies.


Table 37 Provincial School subsidies 2004 – 2007 (Kina)

2004 2005 2006 2007

665,300 665,300 665,000 731,400

The Education Function Grant can be allocated to a variety of uses within guidelines set down by the Department of Finance. In theory, the Provincial Government could choose not to use any of the Function Grant for school subsidies. The absence of Provincial school subsidies would place enormous strain on parents throughout the Province and very probably lead to a marked increase in attrition rates in schools. The allocation of a significant part of the Education Function Grant as the Provincial component of school subsidies (second and fourth quarters) should then remain during the duration of the Plan. It will be a responsibility of the Provincial Education Board (PEB) to decide how these subsidies are shared out among the sectors. It has been made clear that the National component of school subsidies will be directed strongly towards basic education sectors (elementary and primary). The PEB must decide whether this trend is to be followed at the Provincial level as well or whether other sectors are to receive more assistance. Two points should be noted by the PEB in arriving at decisions: o The Provincial Government has responsibility for all aspects of post-primary education. There is going to be

minimal assistance for post-primary sectors from National Government o The Province will be retaining community schools (Grades 1 – 6) and some high schools (Grades 7 – 10) for

the duration of the Plan. As these types of institutions are not mentioned in the NEP there is little or no support for such institutions or the children who attend them. These institutions cater however for children from the more remote parts of West Sepik Province who are probably least able to meet the costs associated with gaining an education.

o Provincial Incentive Scheme (for teachers in remote schools) The Plan calls for a Provincial Incentive Scheme to be introduced to try to encourage teachers (especially in the primary sector) to accept appointments in the most remote schools. This would require the Provincial Division of Education to prepare, in consultation with District Education Offices, a list of the most remote schools. This would then need to be approved by the PEB. A submission would then be made to the PEB support the principle of making a yearly payment to teachers who were prepared to accept appointment in one of these remote schools (payable on the completion of a year of service). The submission would then be sent by the PEB to the PEC for approval of the principle and authorisation of the funding. (This payment would be in addition to any incentives/allowances forthcoming from the National Department of Education). In 2006 and 2007, there were over 200 vacant funded positions in the primary sector. If initially an Incentive Payment of K500 annually was offered to 100 teachers in schools classified by the PEB as Most Remote, this may half the number of vacant positions in the Province. The annual cost of such a scheme would be K50,000. If the Scheme could be extended to 200 positions in Most Remote schools, the cost would be K100,000 annually.

• LOCAL-LEVEL GOVERNMENT COSTS Local-level Governments through District Administrations are responsible for supporting communities in the infrastructure and maintenance costs of Elementary schools and Primary schools in their districts. Infrastructure support will be in the form of establishment grants. Indicative figures for such grants are quoted in the NEP as follows:

� Elementary school establishment grant - K5,000 per class � Upper Primary (Grade 7) establishment grant - K20,000 per class

Guidelines for maintenance quoted in the NEP are as follows:


� Elementary school maintenance - K250 per class � Primary school maintenance - K1,000 per class

It is important that per capita funding as legislated for under Section 93(2) of the Organic Law on Provincial and Local-level Governments be provided direct to the local-level governments. The local-level governments will be assisted by both members of parliament and the churches. Members of parliament will also be expected to support the establishment and maintenance of basic education facilities through the use of district support grants administered through the Joint District Planning and Budget Priorities Committee.

• CHURCH AGENCIES The Plan recognises the significant contribution which has been made by the church agencies in the delivery of education services to the people of West Sepik Province. This has been the case in all sectors but has been particularly significant and innovative in the secondary and vocational sectors. It is expected that church agencies will continue to provide support, both pastoral and material, to the communities within which they work, and in some cases to the Province as a whole.

• COMMUNITIES The contribution that communities make will largely be in the form of the construction and maintenance of infrastructure in elementary and primary schools. This will be in kind rather than in cash.

• PARENTS Parents will continue to make significant cash contributions towards the education of their children. The National Department of Education has indicated that the greatest support to parents in regard to the payment of school fees will be in the basic education sector. There will be considerable financial pressure on parents to find fees for their children attending boarding high schools and secondary schools. Similar pressures will also be felt by parents to support children at vocational centres and CODE. Post-primary institutions will however be greatly dependent on the payment of school fees by parents for their continued existence. The supply of food rations to remote boarding schools has become an increasingly serious consideration since 2005 because of the reduction in air services and the spiralling costs of freight arising from very high fuel costs and from airline policies requiring charter rates for aircraft to be paid for delivery of food or materials. Studies have shown that a significant proportion of school fees in all sectors remain unpaid each year. Measures must be approved to counter this practice, otherwise the continued operation of institutions cannot be guaranteed. If elected governments institute a “Free Education” policy in all or specific sectors from time to time, this will remove much of the responsibility from parents in regard to payment for education services.

• DONOR AGENCIES The National Education Plan (NEP) states clearly (p.120): “Despite serious cost-saving measures in the Plan, it cannot be implemented in full without support from donor agencies. Some of the activities in the Plan, which the National budget allocation cannot cover, will need to be supported by donor agencies. The funding cannot be seen as a replacement for the Government’s recurrent and development budgets but should provide additional funds and be a catalyst for further development. If this is not the case then sustainability becomes a major issue.” The role of donor agencies is even more crucial in West Sepik Province because of the present low internal revenue generating ability of the Province. The designated responsibility of provincial governments for post-primary education will be met in the West Sepik Province only with the assistance of donor agencies. Major new developments will depend almost entirely on donor funding being secured.


Secondary school maintenance which is a responsibility of the Provincial Government will require substantial donor funding assistance. Some high schools (such as Lumi and Aitape) have successfully applied fo,r and been granted, significant funding. St Francis High School Nuku has submitted a proposal for funding. Vanimo High School submitted a very minor proposal and must now submit a more complete proposal. Telefomin High School has been promised funding for maintenance by OkTedi Tax Credit Scheme but the timing of this assistance is not clear. What is important to note in regard to submissions for donor assistance is that the proposal must originate with the school and be comprehensive in scope and costed in detail. Once funding is obtained, the funds must be used strictly for the purpose for which they were provided. Full acquittals of all monies received are required in all instances. These practices have not always been followed by schools, and donor agencies will not tolerate any misuse of funds or any failure to acquit all monies fully (“Zero Tolerance” policy) Expansion of an existing high school to become a secondary school can only be attempted if adequate donor funding is assured. The “average” figure quoted by the National Department of Education is K750,000 per class. Experience in the Province and in East Sepik Province has shown that for the transition from high school to secondary school to be made successfully, with appropriate library, science and dormitory facilities in place , such a move for a two-stream secondary school is in the region of K4 – 5 million. Some important donor-funding is already being received in the Province and it is essential that the procedures required by donor agencies are adhered to strictly so that the donor support is maintained. The Basic Education Development Project (BEDP) funded by AusAID has been controlled remote from the Provincial Education Office so that all financial matters can be kept separate from any monies relating to Divisional operation. BEDP, in addition to providing training and support for Boards of Management, supplies maintenance grants for every primary and community school in the Province annually provided that acquittal of funds takes place. Unfortunately many schools are extremely casual about acquittal of funds. In view of the fact that support for community schools especially over the period of the Plan will be minimal, it is vital that this significant regular source of maintenance for schools in the primary sector is sustained. BEDP also provides School infrastructure Grants for selected schools in remote districts. In 2007, grants of K100,000 each were provided to Nuku District (Mukili, Yimut and Amawi Schools), Aitape-Lumi District (Karaitem and Fatima Primary Schools), Telefomin District (Ofektamin, Urapmin and Framin Schools), Vanimo-Green District (Imonda, Namola and Kwek Schools) and the Namea LLG of the Telefomin District (Wiyari and Mabaijo Schools). Works at these schools are managed by a managing contractor, but community participation and cooperation in the projects is considered a requirement. It is essential that individuals and communities give their wholehearted and generous support to these projects by their enthusiastic involvement. This is necessary if such schemes are to continue in the Province. The Education Capacity Building Project (ECBP) funded by AusAID will be the “umbrella” funding project for education throughout the country. Funding for teachers’ in-service training, inspectors’ operations and a variety of other operations will come through ECBP. The importance of maintaining the highest standards of responsibility in regard to the proper use and proper acquittal of these funds cannot be stressed enough. The National Department of Education in 2005 and 2006 introduced an initiative known as the Less Developed Districts (LDD) School Grants which made allocations to schools in the most remote areas of the Province of a magnitude that many had never previously experienced. In each of the years, 2005 and 2006, fifteen schools in each of the four districts in West Sepik Province (a total of sixty schools each year) each received an infrastructure grant of K10,000. Some schools used this to great advantage. In a small number of schools the grant was misappropriated. In about half the schools, no acquittals were made. It is vital that donor funds are properly used, and properly acquitted. If this is not done, further donor funding will not be forthcoming. There are some major projects which are of importance to the Province for which major donor-funding is essential. The upgrading of selected vocational centres in the Province, in line with the priorities of the


National Education Plan, will only be achieved if donor-funding of significant magnitude is acquired. The Sandaun Centre for Learning is intended to be a multi-faceted institution focussing on non-formal learning at secondary and tertiary level, while incorporating a location for nurturing cross-cultural relations with the Republic of Indonesia. Adult literacy promotion is also embraced by the incorporation of a public library into the Centre. The Centre would also provide the only conference centre facilities in the Vanimo area. Donor-funding for this innovative and appropriate project must be actively sourced.



MONITORING & MONITORING & MONITORING & MONITORING &

EVALUATING THE PLANEVALUATING THE PLANEVALUATING THE PLANEVALUATING THE PLAN


SECTION 7 – MONITORING & EVALUATING THE PLAN

ELEMENTARY

Performance Area: Access

Minor Outcome E.1 Target Measure(s)

Adequate elementary schools established at community level in all districts of the Province to enable all 6-year-old children have access to elementary education throughout the province by 2014.

All 6 year-old children will have access to elementary education by 2014

Elementary enrolment records

Specific enrolment rates

School reports

The Province will approve the opening of 25 elementary schools annually from 2008 to 2014

No of schools open each year

Standards officers report

Performance Area: Quality Curriculum and Monitoring

Minor Outcome E 2 Target Measure(s)

A relevant and quality elementary curriculum is developed, implemented and monitored.

At least 25% of communities will have curriculum development committees by 2009

School reports

No of Curr.development committee

LLGs will be encouraged to approach SIL to develop two orthographies per year

No of orthographies developed

The Provincial Division of Education will facilitate the introduction of English as a subject in E1.

Standard officers reports

No of schools taking English as subject in school curriculum.

Performance Area: Quality Teacher Education and Training

Minor Outcome E 3 Target Measure(s)

Sufficient numbers of teachers adequately trained are placed in elementary schools and on-going elementary teacher- training supported and maintained.

A teacher pupil ratio of 1:30 will be maintained in all our Elementary schools in Sandaun

School enrolment figures and no of teachers

No of schools with a teacher pupil ration of 1:30


Performance Area: Quality Management

Minor Outcome E.4 Target Measure(s)

Effective management practices make elementary education cost-effective and affordable both for parents and for the government

All elementary schools will have a functional board by 2009

No of schools with functional school

boards.

PRIMARY


Minor Outcome P1 Target Measure(s)

Adequate numbers of primary schools in the four districts identified, established and/or improved.

All children completing Grade 6 can be accommodated in Grade 7 at a primary school by 2014

No of grade 6 enrolled in grades 7.

Standard officers report

School report

Approximately 85% - 90% Grade 3 to 8 enrolment rate achieved by 2014

Number of children that continue schooling to grade 8

An average of 15 new primary school Grade 7 classes established each year until 2014

No of grade 7 classes established each year.

School reports/standard reports


Minor Outcome P 2 Target Measure(s)

A relevant primary school curriculum developed and/or adopted, implemented and monitored.

By 2014 adoption of the Reform Curriculum will have reached implementation level in 75% of schools in the primary sector.

School and standards officers report.

No schools implementing new reform curriculum.

Skills-oriented programme introduced in all primary schools by 2009

No of schools with skills oriented programme

Literacy and numeracy standards reported biennially from 2008

The Province to continue with reprinting and distribution of Grade 1 and 2 curriculum materials until 2014.

No of standards reports written

Grade 1 and 2 materials reprinted and

distributed.



Minor Outcome P3 Target Measure(s)

Sufficient appropriately trained and qualified teachers identified and placed in primary schools

. 85% of the teachers in primary schools will have achieved diploma status by 2014

No of primary schools with diploma

qualification.


Minor Outcome P 4 Target Measure(s)

An efficient and effective primary education management system

established and managed.

By 2008 the Provincial education Board for Primary and community schools aimed at improving Access to primary education and retention in primary and community schools

Students’ retention rate in primary schools.

Number of students enrolled in Primary schools.

SECONDARY


Minor Outcome S 1 Target Measure(s)

Adequate and appropriate number of secondary schools in locations throughout the province established, equipped and supported to make secondary education accessible to all academically-capable students

Grades 7 and 8 will be phased out of conventional high schools by 2014

No of secondary schools phased out grade 7 and 8

An existing High school be upgraded to secondary status by 2011 provided that prescribed NDOE conditions for expansion are met.

Established new secondary school


Minor Outcome S2 Target Measure(s)

A relevant secondary curriculum developed and/or adopted, implemented and monitored.

An existing High be upgraded to secondary status by 2011 provided that prescribed NDOE conditions for expansion are met.

Establishment of third secondary school in province.

PEB reports and approval documents.



Each school in the secondary No of specialist English teachers by


Adequate and appropriately trained teachers identified and placed in secondary schools.

sector will have at least one specialist English teacher by 2009

2009.



Adequate and appropriately trained teachers identified and placed in secondary schools.

The level of parental contribution to school fees in the secondary sector will be determined on an annual basis by individual Boards of Governors and approved by the Provincial Education Board

PEB documentation on setting of school fee each year.

Amount of school fee set for secondary schools.


FLEXIBLE OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATION


Minor Outcome F1 Target Measure(s)

Significant growth in enrolments

achieved.

Each district will have suitable facilities to conduct and administer FODE by 2012.



The curriculum and assessment programs based on main stream education system adopted and implemented.

Curriculum taught at FODE is equal to that in the formal education system by 2008

Performance Area: Quality Teacher Education & Training


Adequately and appropriately qualified staff and personnel recruited and placed.

A Provincial personnel support system for FODE to be established by 2012


Minor Outcome F 4 Target Measure(s)

Adequately and appropriately qualified staff and personnel recruited and placed.

A Memorandum of Agreement be signed by the Sandaun Provincial Government for support of FODE by 2009

Signing the MOA for FODE by Sandaun Provincial Government.


TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION TRAINING


Minor Outcome V 1 Target Measure(s)

Adequate number of vocational institutions established

An appropriate number of TVET centres will be developed throughout the Province by 2014

No of TVET center by 2014

Enrolments in vocational centres will increase by 80% on current enrolments by 2014.

Increase in enrolment in vocational centres.

Enrolment rate to 80% by 2014

Females will represent 40% of the total enrolments in vocational centres by 2014

Female enrolment rate to 40% by 2014

Accreditation and certification of trade skills courses conducted at Don Bosco secondary school be sort from TVET as soon as the new TVET system is introduced, with a view to these qualifications being recognised as credit units toward higher studies at Technical Colleges in PNG.

Recognition of Don Bosco.

Accreditation of Don Bosco certification.


Minor Outcome V 2 Target Measure(s)

A quality vocational skills training program provides clients with skills that are relevant and required by the community.

Standardised and Accredited curriculum in place in vocational centres in the Province by 2009

Standardised curriculum in place.

Special PETT courses for Grade Ten students, developed in consultation with the Republic of Indonesia, established in selected vocational centres by 2010

Documentation of special courses for Gr.10 students developed by Indonesia in Vocational centres.

A two-year course for Grade 8 students will be established by 2010

Two year course offered for gr.8 students.

All vocational centres will offer short-term Competency Based courses by 2010

No of competency based courses offered by 2010.

Modularised courses will be offered to Grade 8 and 10 students by 2009

No of modularised courses offered for gr.8 and gr.10.


Performance Area: Quality Teacher Education & Training

Minor Outcome V3 Target Measure(s)

Provide sufficient number of appropriately trained and qualified vocational centre instructors and

managers.

Qualified instructors will be deployed to TVET institutions during the period of the Plan

No. qualified instructors in TVET institutions.


Minor Outcome V4 Target Measure(s)

A greater autonomy will be granted to major church agencies and other capable organisations.

Affordable and well-managed TVET system in operation by 2014

Standard officer report on TVET system in province.

A practical system for addressing the problem of teacher absenteeism is adopted by 2008

Evidence of control on teacher absenteeism.

Introduction of new system


ADMINISTRATION OF EDUCATION


Minor Outcome A1

The Provincial Division of Education will be restructured in order to strategically respond to changing conditions and government priorities.

The re-structure of the Provincial Division of Education to be completed by 2007

Re-structure in division of education.


Minor Outcome A2 Target Measure(s)

The Provisional Division of Education is staffed by officers who are appropriately-trained and qualified for the positions that they occupy.

Appointments to positions in the re-structured Provincial Division of Education to be completed and the appointees in place by the start of 2008

Appointments of officers to fill new positions in the re-structure.




A Divisional Human Resource Development Policy is in place by 2009

A new divisional Human Resources policy by 2009.


Minor Outcome A 4 Target Measure(s)

A management system is established within the Provincial Division of Education in which Provincial and National Officers work together in harmony, cooperation and mutual respect to achieve their common goal of delivering a high standard of service in education throughout the Province.

A comprehensive policy relating to all aspects of the internal management of the Provincial Division of Education is in place by 2008

New policy relating to internal management in place by 2008.




Financial Management within the administration of education of the Province will be carried out by qualified personnel and the highest standards of delivery of monies and

accountability maintained.

Target A5.1

Appoint a professionally –qualified personnel to handle project account by 2011

Appointment of an officer to look after projects



A comprehensive database of schools and teachers be established in the Provincial Division of Education and annual updates be undertaken

A comprehensive database of schools and teachers be established in the Provincial Division of Education by 2009.

Setting up of a database in the division.



Establish and maintain an effective communication network for education in the Province

No Targets Set.


Minor Outcome A 8 Target Measure(s)

A more efficient system of managing teachers’ salaries in the Province be implemented.

An efficient system of managing teachers’ salaries in the Province be implemented by 2009.

Decentralised teachers’ salaries in the province.


References

Department of Education A National Plan For Education 2005 – 2014 “Achieving a better future”, Department of Education, 2004

Department of National Planning and Rural Development Medium Term Development Strategy, 2003 to 2007, Department of National Planning & Rural Development, 2004 Government of Papua New Guinea Organic Law on Provincial Governments and Local-level Governments, Government of PNG, 1995 Sandaun Provincial Government Sandaun Education Act, 2001 (No 2 of 2001), Sandaun Provincial Government, 2001 West Sepik Provincial Administration West Sepik Corporate Plan, West Sepik Provincial Administration, 2006

Documents

SANDAUN PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT€¦ · SANDAUN PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT DIVISION OF EDUCATION SANDAUN PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION P.O.BOX 126 VANIMO SANDAUN PROVINCE PAPUA NEW GUINEA TEL: